The Wait
by morninwarri0r
Summary: [RE-WRITTEN VERSION] Twelve years later, Chihiro decides that waiting is no longer an option. (SEMI-HIATUS TILL END APRIL 2018)
1. Twelve Years

**The Wait: Twelve Years**

 **Summary:** Twelve years later, Chihiro decides that waiting is no longer an option.

 **Rating:** T (may go up in future)

 **A/N:** Hello, I'm back with the new (and hopefully improved) version of _'The Wait'._ It's been 3 years since I published this story on and looking back now, I realize there are just so many things I wish I could have done differently on this story. So here is _'The Wait 2.0'_! I'm re-writing this story from scratch, I'm shortening it (because I'm going to sieve out all the unnecessarily draggy stuff) and there will be some difference in characterizations (because Chihiro needs to stop being as insecure as a hormonal teenage girl).

If I had to write a review on the original, I would end up writing a whole essay of my grievances.

That's not to say that the general plot will be much different from the original though. Not too sure on that. So don't assume anything.

If you're new to the story, I highly recommend that you don't read the original (unless you really love spoilers) because it'll probably ruin the experience for you? And if you have read the story before and are just going along with this updated version, please be considerate to other newer readers and do not reveal any spoilers in your reviews.

Thank you for reading!

* * *

 **EPIGRAPH**

" _If we wait until we're ready, we'll be waiting for the rest of our lives."  
-Lemony Snicket_

* * *

It was just another summer's day, but it was cooler than usual; about twenty-six degrees. Shrunken rain clouds were crawling away, revealing the deep blue sea of sky above. Everything in sight was dripping wet. They shimmered under the soft caress of the sun's rays, like gentle ripples on the surface of a calm river.

On a bench sat a woman. She wore a pale blue hospital gown that clung to her small frame, and a blank expression sat on her pallid face. The tips of her fingers were so cold they could barely feel the damp wood beneath them. She resembled a statue, not responding to the soft rustle of the grass against her feet or the sounds of flies in any way.

On days like these, she tended to withdraw into her own thoughts. Her mood would sway like the leaves of the trees around her, while her mind and heartbeat were as restless as the wind that tousled her short brown hair. Memories would then flood her mind: memories of a river that she couldn't cross, of a strange land of creatures, and of a young boy. "You promised," she muttered, creating a ripple in the silence as a certain heaviness tugged at her heart. "Promises aren't meant to be broken."

The same thought had occurred to her countless times over the past twelve years. It wasn't as if she was constantly brooding over it. She had her own life to live, which she did, and quite happily too, at that. She had no shortage of friends or familial love, and all in all, she would say that she was content and thankful for all she had.

But deep down inside her, there was always this void within her that remained empty. It was a void that made her chest feel hollow, and clench with a tight ache all at once. It took a while for her to realize that it was really nothing more than a longing to see them again, and to know that they still remembered her. To be honest, when she looked back, there were times she would wonder if she had simply conjured up all those memories and friends out of pure, wild imagination as a weird child. Other times, she felt like letting go of it all and forgetting anything even happened.

She had attempted to forget many times, but each attempt proved futile. There was just something special about the bonds that she had forged in that magical place that was impossible to erase from her heart.

" _Nothing that happens is ever forgotten..."_

The words rang in her ears, the endearing voice of the old woman whom she remembered so fondly coming to mind. If that was true, then she supposed even if she did manage to forget all about that bathhouse and its residing spirits, it would probably come back to her eventually, somehow. Special people just had a strange way of making a home in your heart like that, she supposed.

Then again, if she wasn't a special person, she might have been forgotten a long time ago.

It took a while more before the woman finally found the sense to return to the waiting room. Slowly, she moved her numb legs back and forth before gingerly getting up on her feet.

* * *

After her weekly checkup at the hospital, Chihiro made her way home together with her mother who had come to pick her up. It was a short drive home, and once they returned, Chihiro busied herself with unpacking, while her mother, Yuko, began making preparations for lunch.

"Chihiro, I'll need to rush off for work in a bit, so you just stay put at home and get some rest, alright?"

"Okay," she replied airily, tossing her bag in a corner and taking a seat at her desk. She closed her eyes briefly, still quite tired from the check-up earlier. There was no time to relax for long though, she had work to do.

Sitting up on her chair, she observed the mess of art supplies littering her desk and her collection of sketches pinned on her noticeboard. The familiar sight somehow diminished the minor headache that had sprung up a while after leaving the hospital. She had been itching to draw since the day before when inspiration struck her while reminiscing.

Picking up her pencil, she began sketching in her favorite sketchbook. It didn't take long for her to be completely absorbed in it; she didn't even notice her mother's call of "goodbye" when she left the house. By the time she was done outlining and painting her newest piece, it was already late afternoon. The hours always just flew by like that when she worked.

Setting down her brush, Chihiro smiled proudly at her newest painting, which was possibly one of her favorites yet. A girl with long flowing hair sat at the corner of the page. Her hair was the colour of the galaxy, constellations and little planets dotting it like intricate accessories. The rest of her body and clothes were not coloured in. Her eyes were distant, looking towards the IV drip that she was connected to, and there in the clear blue solution bag was a miniature dragon staring back at her. Its details had been hard to paint because of its size, but Chihiro had done her best to add everything she could remember: his soft seagreen fur that lined his back, his pearlescent scales that seemed to shimmer on its own, his horns that were sturdy enough to keep her ten-year-old self on board safely, and his claws that seemed able to tear through anything if he so wanted.

Checking the time on her phone, Chihiro realized it was already 4pm. She had to meet a buyer in half an hour, so she made quick work of getting changed and placing another commissioned artwork that she had completed a week ago in a presentable paper bag before leaving the house.

Because of her long-term medical condition, Chihiro had decided to drop out of college in order to lessen the financial burden on her mother. Her father wasn't around anymore, so her mother was the only one left who could support them. There were many occasions in which Chihiro had offered to go out and get a part-time job based on her decent academic qualifications, but her mother had refused, worried that she would only end up overexerting herself.

If it weren't for her art, Chihiro would have no way of earning money for herself. She had not expected to garner such a great following on social media after only a year of posting her daily artwork as nothing more than an emotional outlet for herself, and ever since she had been commissioned by many to make custom drawings for them, in the process earning quite a good amount of money to sustain her daily expenses. Of course, there were times when she would secretly sneak out to get a part-time job at the ramen shop on the other end of the town since it belonged to Ayano, a close friend of hers, as her family business.

Chihiro hummed to herself as she made her way to the other side of the hill where they had ended up after her father took a detour during the move. She visited this place frequently, because it always ended up giving her some form of inspiration. That was why she had brought along her sketchbook and essential art supplies today as well.

The sides of the rocky road were lined with little houses as always, and Chihiro muttered a "Have a good day" under her breath to the little spirits that probably lived in there. She had never seen one before though. Perhaps they were in hibernation with a good number of centuries left before they woke up again.

As she climbed the winding road, Chihiro felt the dull throbbing in her head intensify, and she rubbed her temples to soothe the headache. Maybe she really was falling sick. Oh well, she would just have to sleep it off later.

When she arrived at the familiar road that led straight to the tunnel, Chihiro smiled faintly to herself. She had painted the scenery here too many times to count. The towering red wall that separated their worlds was now covered in a blanket of ugly green moss. Dead leaves lay scattered at the feet of the wall; no one ever came to clean. It was almost as if this was a haunted site; a forgotten part of the town.

Her buyer had not arrived yet. Chihiro had arrived ten minutes before the agreed time, so she decided to look around for a bit. She walked towards the tunnel, standing in front of it, and a wry expression settled on her features as she stared at the entrance that was no longer open. She had tried numerous times to return to that world, despite it going against his old warning of "Don't look back", because she longed to see them all again, to know that they were all doing well and to know if anything had changed in the bathhouse for the better.

Above all, she wanted to see him again.

But the tunnel — or gate, as she preferred to call it — was not very forgiving. Ever since she left, the entrance had been blocked by an invisible wall. She couldn't break through it, no matter how hard she tried, so after a while she simply gave up. The only thing she could do was to wait for him to cross over to her side, if that was even possible, since he apparently couldn't go any further than the edge of the meadow where they had parted.

And in the blink of an eye, twelve years had already passed since she last saw him. Chihiro let out a sigh. Checking her phone for the time, she found that it was already 4.35pm, and still there was no sign of her buyer.

Just then, she felt a strong gust of wind blowing in the direction of the tunnel. Nostalgia washed over her, and her head turned towards the black hole. It was almost as if... the wind was calling her back in.

Hesitantly, she stepped past the little statue till she was just a step away from the entrance. Reaching out her hand, she tried to find the invisible wall that had prevented her entry, but to her surprise, she found nothing of the sort.

Puzzled, she took her first step into the tunnel, and felt her heart skip a beat when nothing in particular happened. There was no sudden force knocking her back out, and the invisible wall seemed to have magically disappeared too.

Excitement pumped through her veins. Was this it? Was this finally it?

But at the same time, apprehension filled her. What would happen if she went against his warning and turned back? Would she be trapped there forever? Would she lose her life the moment she entered the Spirit World?

At that moment, the sound of footsteps behind her startled her and she quickly withdrew from the tunnel. She turned around, not exactly knowing if she was expecting to see a beast or a human, but all she found was her buyer standing before her. He must have run all the way there, if his harsh panting was any indication. With a courteous smile, she handed him the paper bag containing the painting. They had a short conversation about this place — she had mentioned somewhere in one of her posts that this place was her inspiration for many of her artworks, which had sparked his curiosity — and then soon he had to rush off somewhere else.

As sunset came, Chihiro decided it was time to go home to prepare dinner. Throwing one last fleeting glance over her shoulder at the tunnel, she swallowed the desire to recklessly charge in there and find that dragon boy and ask him the questions that she had kept bottled up inside her for twelve whole years. Perhaps she wouldn't have such a chance again. Or if fate allowed, maybe if she came back tomorrow, the gate would still be open.

In any case, she had to go home. That was where she belonged.

* * *

Yuko slumped against her chair, tiredly pinching the bridge of her nose. She set her chopsticks down on the plate with a clatter with a weary sigh.

"Bad day?" Chihiro asked, taking her seat opposite her mother at the dining table. Yuko's blouse was just as wrinkled as her forehead at the moment. Strands of gray hair were spilling out of the tight bun she had worn to work in the morning. "You look very tired."

"Yes... There's a lot of work to be done," her mother replied wearily.

"Is it for that conference? You shouldn't overwork yourself."

"Well, If your father were here, things would be done a lot faster. The team just isn't as productive or efficient without him around."

"True," Chihiro agreed. "But you're working so hard and doing a good job too. Give yourself some credit."

"Thanks, dear." Yuko offered her an appreciative smile, even though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "It's just... not been a good few days."

Setting down her chopsticks, Chihiro placed her hand over her mother's to give it a comforting squeeze.

"I'm fine," Yuko said, patting her daughter's hand. "Let's eat; the food's getting cold. Oh, what's this? You made curry! Dad's favorite!"

"Yeah, I figured I'd make some since I haven't cooked this in a while," Chihiro smiled.

"If your Dad were here, he'd be gobbling down the food straight away like the pig he is!" Yuko laughed, though there was a tinge of sadness in her voice that didn't go unnoticed by Chihiro.

"Mom, are you sure you're okay?" she asked, brows furrowing as she stared at her the older woman.

"I'm okay, really, it's just... it's just one of those days when you really miss having him here to support you and... It's just been a terrible day, Chihiro. I'm sorry..." Her mother's shoulders began to shake as she sobbed into her hands, and immediatley Chihiro was by her mother's side, hugging her tightly.

"I'm sorry, Mom..."

"It's not your fault, Chihiro. There are just some things beyond our control. None of us expected your father to have that illness. And to think that you would have it too... I'm sorry that you have to go through this, darling."

"Don't be. I'm more worried about you; you seem quite overworked," Chihiro replied, exhaling deeply as she blinked furiously to keep the tears from falling. This was not the time to be emotional. "You're tired. How about going upstairs to take a bath? Sleep early."

"I guess you're right. I think I'll eat dinner later, after I wash up and settle down. You eat first, okay?"

"Okay." Chihiro watched as her mother left for the bathroom, and only after making sure she was out of view, did she wipe away the moisture from her eyes with the back of her hands. Sitting herself back down at the table, she ate her dinner in silence.

* * *

The next afternoon, Chihiro was back at the tunnel, carrying a small bagpack with her. If this worked, she had one or two days to stay in the Spirit World before she had to go home. She had told her mother in the morning that she would be staying over at Ayano's house for a few days and had already asked Ayano to cover for her if anything unexpected cropped up.

Taking a deep breath, Chihiro tentatively took her first step into the tunnel, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the wall was still not there. Despite the same fears still lingered in the back of her mind, she decided that she had to go. It was now or never. She didn't have all the time in the world, and life was too unpredictable for her to easily say that she could simply come back another time.

Besides, who was to say that she wouldn't end up waiting for the rest of her life if she chose to continue waiting like she had for the past twelve years?

With that conclusion, Chihiro took her first step into that fateful tunnel.

* * *

 **A/N:** ...I'll continue editing this later. I'm still not entirely satisfied with how the beginning of this story should be, but I'm kind of out of ideas at the moment so I guess I can only come back another time to see how else I should go about doing this.

Gosh I just really needed to publish this or nothing is going to progress with this story. Wish me luck.

Anyways, thanks for reading! The next chapter will be more interesting, I promise. It's definitely going to be way more fun to write. Wheeee.


	2. Return

**The Wait: Return**

You'd think that after twelve years, Chihiro would have gotten over her stupid fears of the dark.

The tunnel was an endlessly pitch black space, and any sound Chihiro made would reverberate eerily about the walls. She tried to shake off the feeling that some kind of ghost or monster would grab her from behind and subject her to a horrific death.

Right then, she wished her parents were with her, so that she would at least have someone to hold on to.

Against the loud drumming of her heart, Chihiro clutched her bag tighter and picked up her pace. Better to get this over and done with as quickly as she could. The rhythmic crunch of dried leaves under her feet sped up as she practically broke into a run until she came to the end of the tunnel.

The same, old musty train station greeted her. The air smelled stale. Dried, brown leaves littered the ground. Sunlight filtered in from a coloured window pane in a corner — the only thing that was coloured amidst the dull stone walls, pillars and benches. In the far distance Chihiro could hear the sound of a train, and she chuckled at the memory of sitting in one of those trains, accompanied by a shy black ghost, a mouse and a little bird surfaced in her mind.

Eagerly, she looked towards the exit where she spotted the lush green meadow. She ran towards it grinning like a child, gladly soaking up the warmth of the sun's rays that kissed her face, and enjoying the feel of the cool breeze against her skin. The air smelled almost sweet out here, and the grass and wild flowers blooming by her feet seemed like they were dancing to the tuneless melody that the wind sang.

 _If only the human world had a meadow as beautiful as this,_ she thought. Not that it wouldn't have eventually been uprooted for "industrial purposes", anyway.

Looking back over her shoulder, a soft smile touched her lips at the sight of the strange clock tower that her father had taken as a part of an abandoned amusement park from the 90s. Silly Daddy. Chihiro contemplated for a minute or two before she took out her sketchbook and pencils. She had some time to spare before night came anyway, so she could afford to do some drawing first. Her memories of the clock tower had become quite hazy since they hadn't spent much time here, so she wanted to get it down on paper before she left.

Of course, she could have taken her camera with her, but what would be the fun in that?

It did not take long for her to finish her quick sketch — she decided she could colour it in later, since she had a pretty reliable memory — and then she proceeded on with her little expedition.

The meadow stretched on as far as the eye could see, and Chihiro wondered where else it led to. She didn't have time for that though. Walking straight ahead, she made it past the little river filled with large stones with considerably more ease than she did the last time. She had grown, so it was easier to get climb over without having to get on all fours.

At the top of the steps, Chihiro was met with the quaint, empty town of sorts. The shops looked as old as ever, with the faded paint peeling off the front walls and dust gathering on the doors. Various shops — mainly those selling food — lined the street, with traditional red lanterns hanging off wires overhead. The smell of cooked meat permeated the space, and Chihiro couldn't decide if the smell was tantalizing or repulsive to her.

As she walked further ahead, she noticed the stall where her parents had both wolfed down food meant for the spirits, and made it a point to walk quickly past that accursed shop. She climbed up the stairs and then she found herself staring up at the familiar, grand "Abura" sign that towered over her.

She turned her head to the right, and there stood the enormous bathhouse, still quiet before it opened for the night. She realized nothing much had changed since the last time she left. Then she wondered if Haku was still working here. If he wasn't, where was he now?

Chihiro walked onto the bridge, and snapped her head downwards when she heard the train coming. Holding on to the red handrails, she peered down, just in time to see the train coming.

What a memory. She marvelled once again at the sight of the train swimming in a straight track across the blue river below. She wondered who could be inside. Would Rin have bought a train ticket to get out of the bathhouse by now? A big, selfish part of her hoped not, for the sole reason that she really wanted to see her again.

Then a sense of nostalgia hit her. She was in the exact same spot she had been when they had first met (technically it had been their second encounter). Now if only he could come out right about now to tell her that she "shouldn't be here"...

It was then that she realized she was no longer alone on the bridge. Sensing another's presence, Chihiro's heart skipped a beat.

She stayed still, waiting to hear a sound. Or a voice. But even as the seconds passed, she heard nothing. Eventually, Chihiro turned around to see what it was, and the sight that greeted her was nothing short of puzzling and frightening.

What she found herself staring at was a black, ghost-like apparition. It was tall, and what was supposed to be its limbs had pointed, sharp ends. It was like No-Face accept without a mouth or a mask. Much like the black apparitions she saw appear on the streets the last time she got lost in the Spirit World. The only difference was that Chihiro instinctively sensed danger coming from this one. She backed away slowly when it began to approach her in a menacing manner.

"W-Who are you?" she asked, a sharp exhale escaping her when she stumbled on a protruding plank. Fortunately, she didn't fall. Bending her knees slightly, she mentally prepared herself to make an escape.

The figure did not respond. It remained quiet, silently advancing towards her as if examining her to decide if she was friend or foe.

"Let me speak to Yubaba," she said aloud, hoping it would curry some favour with that thing — provided it was a spirit and not some kind of spirit machine designed to take out anyone or anything that threatened to intrude on the bathhouse.

Silence was her only answer, and Chihiro decided that it was best to leave immediately. So she turned and fled, but the moment she did, something lunged for her, caging her in its vice-like grip and a pointed limb covered her mouth. Chihiro struggled for her life; she needed air.

But resistance was futile. Within moments, she slipped into unconsciousness, not knowing what else awaited her.

* * *

"… sick human!"

"Throw it in the dumpster!"

"She'll scare away the customers!"

"I wonder what Yubaba's gonna do now. She just _had_ to go cast a stupid spell that brings them in here!"

"What's all the commotion about?"

"It's a human! And a sick one! Ew!"

"Oh my... Get her out! She's stinking up the place!"

"Can't do that, Yubaba said she'll handle these things herself."

The blur of voices around her caused Chihiro to stir. As she regained her consciousness, Chihiro became more aware of the alarmed shouts of, "She's awake!" and a dull aching in her head. She winced and attempted to rub her temples when she realized her hands and legs were all tied up.

...What was going on?

It took some time for her vision to come into focus, but when it did, Chihiro found herself surrounded by a whole group of spirits. They had formed a circular barrier around her, although keeping a steady radius of about two meters away from her. Many of them were pinching their noses and sending her disgusted glares. Upstairs, spirits peered down curiously at her, scrutinizing her features and whispering amongst themselves.

Ignoring them, she scanned the place, quickly recognizing it as she noted the laundry hanging over the railings and the wooden staircase that led to Chichiyaku's reception desk, which she was now facing. The place was pretty stuffy, probably because of all the people — or rather, _spirits_ — that were crammed in this small area.

She wondered if she was dreaming, but the waves of pain in her head told her otherwise. So she really had made back into the bathhouse. Alive, somehow, even though she had gotten attacked earlier.

She would have celebrated, if it weren't for the fact that she was tied up tightly in ropes. Her hands and feet were bound tightly, and the coarse material dug painfully into her skin the more she tried to struggle and break free of her restraints. Being tied up like this, it could only mean that she would either be turned into a pig, or killed on the spot for trespassing.

Her eyes searched the crowd, hoping she could find a familiar face or two. She had to find Lin. Lin would get her out of this mess. Maybe even Aniyaku or Chichiyaku would lend her a hand. That is, if they still remembered her to begin with. She desperately hoped they did.

Chihiro opened her mouth to speak — she had to call for Lin, or no one else would save her. But to her horror, she found that she couldn't make a sound. She was completely mute even though her throat felt completely fine. That black ghost thing must have cast some stupid spell on her.

Desperately, she jerked her head wildly in all directions, not caring for the fact that it only made her head feel worse — she had to find Lin. Somebody. Anybody who remembered her and would be willing to get her out of this mess.

Frustration and fear began to build up in her when all she found no one of the sort. All that met her gaze were eyes filled with disgust. Perhaps it would have been better if she didn't decide to come back. She would still be alive and well, spending the rest of her days in peace with her mother and friends. Maybe she would regret not going back when she had the chance, but that at the very least she would be alive.

Just then, the crowd hushed, the loud chattering reduced into mere murmurs as they parted like a red sea to allow a familiar old witch through.

"Hmph. Now what do we have here? Another one of those pesky humans, hmm?"

Chihiro never thought she would actually be glad to see the old lady who had turned her parents into pigs and nearly trapped her in the Spirit World for good. She looked the same; her head was still unnaturally inflated with an incredibly large nose and huge nostrils that she could probably fit her fist through. The only thing that had changed was probably the greater amount of jewelry Yubaba was decked in. The bathhouse must have had good business since she left.

She searched Yubaba's narrowed eyes, hoping the old lady who was probably nowhere close to being senile would be able to recognize her, or at least find her vaguely familiar. It had been twelve years, but surely she would be able to recognize her despite the few changes that had taken place after puberty.

"Bring her to my office before she stinks up the bathhouse and chases away my customers. She'll make for good experimentation to stop this bathhouse from attracting more wretched humans. The rest of you, get back to work!"

Shouts of agreement and relief echoed through the hall as the workers left. Some of them sent her some final glares, and one that looked like a toad spirit even spit at her (it narrowly missed her ear, thank goodness). Chihiro turned to face Yubaba as the black figure from before roughly hauled her up to her feet.

Doubtfully, she searched Yubaba's cold expression for any sign that she had recognized her. Otherwise, she was sure she would have been turned into a pig or some kind of animal that suited her fancy on the spot. But Yubaba merely harrumphed and ordered, "Send her up," before vanishing with a strong gust of wind in her wake.

A lot of manhandling and wrestling later, Chihiro finally made it to Yubaba's office. The black figure hurled her to the floor, and she landed clumsily on all fours. _Just like the last time,_ she grumbled to herself. If she could speak, a string of curses that would never be suitable for Boh to hear would be released in an instant.

"Leave us," Yubaba instructed from behind her office desk, and the black figure stalked out the door without a word, closing the doors behind him. Chihiro looked around, unsurprised to see that Yubaba's office had barely changed from its tacky oriental design from twelve years ago. The fireplace was still in place, though the three bobble heads were nowhere to be found. She still got the creeps when she thought about them even now, so she was rather glad that they weren't present and jumping around her.

"So, what brings you here, Sen? Or should I say, _Chihiro_?"

With a snap of her fingers whose nails would put Wolverine to shame, Chihiro felt a small warmth in her throat and she cleared it, experimentally making some sounds. "You know," she muttered, dusting herself off as she stood, "it wouldn't kill you to teach that thing some manners."

"Your bratty mouth hasn't grown out yet?" Yubaba smirked, drawing a long puff on her cigarette and exhaling a large plume of white smoke that hid the ceiling from view. "What are you doing back here? Need a job again? I don't think I need any more employees as of now, but I'd be happy for you to be served as dinner for one of our regular customers. I heard he loves human meat."

"I appreciate the generous offer, Yubaba, but I'll pass. And I've been doing fine, thanks for asking. I see that you've been doing pretty well yourself too."

"Still as rich as ever. The bathhouse has been doing great after you left, although I can't say I'm entirely satisfied with losing my best employee."

Chihiro had been anything but Yubaba's best employee, so she must have meant...

"You're mean Haku?" It felt strange, calling his name aloud so comfortably. She hadn't dared say his name back at home because over there, he didn't exist. He was nothing more than a figment of her imagination back home. But here, the bathhouse was real, and so was he. The revelation was both comforting and exciting all at once.

"Yes, the dragon boy... No matter. His attitude was giving me a big headache. Perhaps it's better that he's gone now."

"How is he doing?"

Yubaba shrugged her shoulders. "How should I know? I couldn't care less if he was starving on the streets or taken in by some other witch."

"Of course." That was to be expected, considering Yubaba's nature. Still, Chihiro felt slight disappointment. If Haku wasn't at the bathhouse, then where could he be? She would never be able to find him beyond this place in the Spirit Realm.

"So, what brings _you_ here?" Yubaba asked, as more smoke escaped through the corners of her mouth as if something were boiling inside. "I didn't think a human like you could come back again, since the Mirror has been closed for quite some time now."

"Mirror?" Chihiro echoed stupidly.

Yubaba sighed. "You came in through a tunnel and past the meadow, yes? That's the Mirror — the boundary between our worlds."

"Oh... Well, I found it open yesterday, so I decided to come back for a short while. To see my friends again, that is."

"Oh? It's suddenly open again after twelve measly years?" Yubaba smirked, chuckling lightly to herself. "I wonder..."

Chihiro paused before she could inquire about Yubaba's vague response. This Spirit World stuff would probably make little sense to her anyway. Drawing the exquisite scenery was more than enough to satisfy her.

Speaking of which, she was missing something important.

"Where's my bag? Where did it go?" she asked.

"Oh, that dirty little pouch you brought?" Yubaba rolled her eyes dismissively. "It should be in the dumpster by now."

"What? In thedumpster? What do you _mean_ it's in the dumpster? Give it back to me!"

"Like I said, it's thrown away. Discarded. Gone. Go dig through the dumpster if you so wish. What you do is none of my business, as long as you don't chase my customers away."

"That contains my—"

"Run along now girl, I have work to do. And shut that annoying mouth of yours — you make too much noise; it's giving me a headache."

The witch flicked her wrist, and the next moment Chihiro found herself being carried off backwards by a strong force — the same force that had yanked her by the front of her shirt into this office the last time. The doors slammed close behind her as she was hauled off the twisting corridors that were completely unnecessary in this building's design back to the front entrance of her room.

Chihiro landed squarely on her butt, and her vision blurred as her head felt slightly lightheaded from all that manhandling. She tried to get up, but stumbled backwards, losing her balance. She would have fallen if it weren't for a pair of arms that caught and steadied her.

"What in the world is this? Yubaba better not be—" Chihiro heard an indignant exclamation from the woman, before she drew back a gasp.

"...Sen? Is that you?"

Chihiro held on to the woman's arms as she tried to steady herself. It took a while for her vision to clear again. When it did, she was astounded.

"...Lin?"

* * *

Chihiro had imagined coming back here so many times in her head, but actually being here and seeing her friends again was... incredible, to say the least. Here she was in the boiler room again, surrounded by the soot balls that were supposed to be working, inhaling the smell of charcoal, and feeling the slightly uncomfortable heat in the stuffy room.

Kamaji had been dumbfounded when he first saw her, and at first he couldn't believe his eyes, until she stepped forward to hug him. It was a rather heartwarming reunion, and for the first time, Chihiro felt like she really could die happy there and then.

"Here, eat this."

Chihiro gratefully accepted the little piece of star-shaped candy that Lin gave her as well as the cup of water. She had started fading off a moment ago, which had created quite a bit of panic in the boiler room. "You feeling better?" Lin asked.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Soooo..." Lin began, "it's been twelve years. How have you been?"

"Pretty alright, I guess," Chihiro replied with a faint smile. "But Dad passed away two years ago."

"I'm so sorry," Kamaji said, reaching an arm over to pat her comfortingly on the shoulder. "It's never easy to lose someone you love."

"You've been holding up well?" Lin asked, giving her hand a squeeze.

Chihiro shrugged. "It was tough at first, but it's gotten better. I still miss him from time to time, but that's normal I guess."

"Of course."

"Anyway," Chihiro started with a lighter tone, "let's not talk about sad stuff. How have things been for you two? Things don't look that much different around here, except for that black monster thing that attacked me at the front of the bathhouse earlier today. What _was_ that?"

Lin gave a scoff. "Oh, that black thing? It's something Yubaba made to ward off wandering humans. Pretty stupid if you ask me — it gave some of the customers quite a scare before because that thing malfunctions from time to time."

Kamaji shook his head. "That wretched witch took some of my soot balls to make that thing. Took a while for the rest of 'em to get back to their normal working paces."

"That's horrible," Chihiro frowned. "Looks like Yubaba hasn't changed all that much."

"You know what they say: a leopard can't change its spots."

"But aside from that, things haven't been much different, other than the bathhouse getting busier because business has been improving lately," Lin added. "Although I would appreciate her giving us a break from time to time. This shit gets tiring after a while. Speaking of which, I need to get back to work. I'll be back later to do more catching up — when will you be heading back to the human world?"

"I can stay here for two to three days," Chihiro answered with a grin.

"Great. Gotta get to the dumpster now — I'm on trash duty."

"The dumpster? Oh Lin, I just remembered. Could you help me get my bag back from the dumpster? Yubaba said she threw it away, and I need it back. It's important."

"Oh? Sure thing. How does it look like?"

"It's a small brown bag with a keychain with my name on it."

"Alright. I'll be back soon. Just sit your ass down here and catch up with Kamaji."

The moment the door slid close behind Lin, the old boiler man let out a dreary sigh. "I thought she'd never leave."

Bemused, Chihiro let out a chuckle and wiped the perspiration from her forehead. It could get ridiculously hot in here after a while. "How do you survive in this heat?" she asked.

"You get used to it after working here for so many years," he replied. "I take it you haven't met Haku yet?"

"I heard from Yubaba that he doesn't work here anymore, and I didn't see him."

"Hmm. So you didn't come back with his help?"

Chihiro shook her head. "No. I just... came back."

Unable to bear it, the woman stood up and began pacing the room, hoping it would cool her off a bit. She tried her best to avoid stepping on the little soot balls going about their business, even though she knew it wouldn't kill them. Vaguely, she wondered what would.

"How has Haku been?" Chihiro inquired, doing her best to keep her voice neutral.

"He quit being Yubaba's apprentice and went off on his way. He's part of the Shugorei now."

"The 'Shugorei'?"

"Think of it like a military or army of sorts — now he fights crime and all that. Apprehends dangerous criminals and works on his magic. He's a passionate learner, that man."

"Wow, that's pretty great." The woman was glad that he had found a place he belonged now. She had been worried because his river had been destroyed after all, but it looked like he was doing well. "Is it okay for me to... visit him? It's been a while since I last saw him."

Kamaji nodded. "Twelve years is pretty long for a human, huh... Haku comes here from time to time for a visit, but unfortunately, I don't know when he'll be visiting next."

"Oh." Her chest grew heavy with disappointment. She had been anticipating seeing him again for a long time, after all. "Is there some way I could get to where he is? Is there a train for it?"

"Well, I heard that he opened a shelter for homeless spirits but as for where it is exactly, I wouldn't know since I haven't been there myself. Besides, even if I knew where it was, I wouldn't allow you to go out there alone. It's too dangerous, and Lin would agree."

"Is there really no way I can look for him?" Chihiro pleaded. "I don't know when I can next come back."

"I don't think so, Chihrio. But if Fate allows it, I'm sure you'll get to see him again. The fact that you're back here means you might just meet him soon."

She was still unconvinced, but decided to agree with the older spirit. Fate may not have much of a hand in the human world, but the Spirit World did work differently. Maybe there was something she could look forward to.

"Okay, excuse me for a bit. I think there's a big order coming in." Chihiro nodded and satisfied herself with sitting in a corner and watching her grandfather hard at work. It was a strange that something as simple as hearing him yell at the soot balls for their ineffectiveness and watching him glug water down from that old kettle could fill her with this much happiness.

If only this happiness could last forever, she thought to herself absentmindedly, curling into a little ball and hugging her knees to her chest.

* * *

 **A/N:** I swear I will not have this fan fiction adopt a monthly-update system. I'm so sorry - I've been crazy busy (unsurprisingly). Not sure if I'll be able to update during the June holidays because I'll be busy preparing for my exams once the holiday ends - sobs - and omg this chapter was hella annoying. It started out fun but then I kept rewriting the Kamaji/Lin bits and I got really frustrated. T_T But in any case the goal is to update once every two weeks maybe. Graaahh.

If you're sad that there was no Haku in this chapter, I'm with you. Writing the start of this story sucks because there's no Haku in the picture. ): I want my fluff too...

Anyways thanks for reading hahaha. Do leave a review if you have the time to spare to tell me what you thought. That's all and see you soon!


	3. A Buried Promise

**The Wait 2.0: A Buried Promise**

Chihiro continued to converse with Kamaji deep into the night as they waited for Lin to return. They shared stories of things that had happened during the twelve years they hadn't met each other, asking questions to get a glimpse, however miniscule, into how much they had changed during this period.

According to Kamaji, Boh had grown to become a more sensible child. Despite Yubaba's objections, Boh often defied her and visited Zeniba to learn from her rather than remain in his room and be uselessly spoiled. Boh did his part to take care of his mother too, even acting as a sort of moral advisor when he saw the need to. For a mere ten-year-old, he was a very intelligent boy.

"Reminds me of you sometimes," Kamaji had remarked with a laugh. "Maybe we can find a way to get to Zeniba's place. She'll be sure to kick up a huge ruckus if she knew you were back but didn't go to see her. Unfortunately I don't have anymore train tickets with me. You'll have to ask Lin or Haku if he happens to come by."

Chihiro didn't doubt that Zeniba would do just that. "I will," she smiled. If it were Haku there would be no need for a train; they could simply fly. She did miss flying on his back. It had been so long that her memory of flying with him had practically become something of a fantasy in the back of her mind. She really hoped that he would drop by while she was still here so she could talk to him again and spend a bit of time with him, since she likely wouldn't be able to do that in the future.

Lin only ended her shift a few hours after Chihiro's usual sleeping time, and by then Chihiro was already dozing off. After she got her bag back - which Lin had taken the liberty to clean before returning it to her - she quickly took her medication and went to sleep, promising to catch up more with Lin the next day.

* * *

"This is pretty darn amazing. I never knew you could draw like that!" Lin exclaimed the next morning as she flipped through the embarrassed woman's sketchbook.

"I just do it for fun," Chihiro said, grimacing each time Lin carelessly flipped through her sketchbook. She really hoped Lin would be a bit more careful; if any of the pages tore, she was sure to die on the inside.

"Oh look! Isn't this me? Gods, why did you draw me with Kamaji and the soot balls? Why couldn't I get a solo picture instead?" she groaned. Chihiro laughed. "I can draw one of you later if you want."

"You said it yourself; don't go back on your word later." Lin grinned as she traced the outline of her drawn figure. "I don't look half bad here. This is really good - it would pass for one of those spells you cast on spirits to trap them in paper."

Chihiro's eyes widened in surprise. "People actually do that?"

"Sure they do. Only spirits who are skilled enough to do it can, though. Zeniba and Yubaba both can do that. There was this one spirit who offended Yubaba so bad she trapped him in a filthy notebook and threw him out into the dumpster," Lin recounted. "Not sure what happened to him after that."

Chihiro frowned. "That's... awful. What did he do? Steal her money?"

"Probably. The only thing that can rile her up that much is if she lost her gold."

After she was done looking through the book, Lin returned it to Chihiro. "You know, I kind of noticed something weird," she smirked. "What's with all the pictures of dragons? They look an awful lot like Haku, you know."

"R-Really?" Chihiro's lips stretched into a wide, sheepish smile, and she laughed awkwardly. "It's nothing much, I just like drawing them. They're pretty easy to draw," she explained, hoping that was enough to appease Lin.

"Huh. Too bad, for a moment I thought you had a thing for Haku or something."

Chihiro rolled her eyes. "He's just a special friend to me."

"Kamaji was pretty convinced that you two loved each other when you saved him from Zeniba though."

"That was just... puppy love. Something like that. I don't know, I just felt attached to him at the time. But these things don't last," Chihiro reasoned. Maybe she did love him in the past, but now it certainly wasn't love. Haku definitely still held a special place in her heart, just like Lin, Kamaji, Zeniba, Boh and No-Face did. They were all important friends to her.

"Oh man. And here I thought I would be able to hitch the two of you up now that you're all grown up."

Chihiro slapped Lin on the arm playfully. "No one's getting hitched ever. I'm not interested in relationships anymore."

The white fox spirit stared at her incredulously. "You a nun or something?"

"No, of course not!" Chihiro laughed. "I just don't want to be in a relationship. It's not for me."

"Did some bastard break your heart? Tell me who it is and I'll march right over and slice his throat open."

"No, no, no, it's nothing like that. Trust me. We're all on relatively good terms even after breaking up. Anyway, I'd like to go out to draw. I don't know when I can come back again so I want to make sure I get it all down on paper before I leave."

"Sure thing," Lin said with a smile, "I'll go with you."

"You sure? It's going to be boring, you know."

"Oh, just shut up and get going already, before Kamaji wakes up."

* * *

"Chihiro, how long more are you going to take?" Lin groaned as she mindlessly picked at the tall grass.

"This is the seventh time you're asking me. I told you I'd take a long time," Chihiro replied with a small sigh. "You're the one who insisted on coming."

"I know, but I didn't think it'd take _this_ long. Watching you draw was nice and all for the first half hour, but now it's just tiring. How do you even keep this up for so long?"

Chihiro shrugged. "I don't know. Time just doesn't seem to matter when you're doing what you love."

"Well, I suppose so."

"Is there anything that you enjoy doing?" Chihiro inquired. "I don't recall you ever talking about a hobby."

"Not really," Lin answered, "I don't have the time to do anything else but work, remember? If I had the extra time I'd be looking for some other part-time job to earn more gold so I can leave this place."

Chihiro lowered her gaze. "Is there really no way of getting Yubaba to release you from your contract?" she asked hesitantly.

"No way, unless I've got enough gold to bribe her with. Anyway, I'm used to it. Wipe that glum look off your face - I don't like it when people pity me."

"I'm not _pitying_ you," Chihiro frowned, "it's just upsetting that you have to go through this sort of nonsense because of her greed. Maybe I can go and talk to her-"

"Chihiro, you should know that the only thing that Yubaba will speak to is gold. Unless you find a gold mine this contract is gonna hold until I find my name."

Left utterly speechless, Chihiro looked down at her half-finished painting. Even in the Spirit World things could be so unfair. Her fingers curled into tight fists. Even in the Spirit World she was so helpless.

"Hey, don't look so sad. Like I said, I'm used to it," Lin piped up, draping an arm over her shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "Besides, I've got a long time to save up gold to buy myself out of that contract. It'll be fine."

"Sorry I can't do anything to help."

"Don't give me that nonsense. Being here is enough to make me happy," Lin grinned. "Just come by as often as you can and it'll be plenty of help."

Chihiro smiled humourlessly, and nodded as she returned to her sketchbook. She rinsed her brush off in the small container of coloured water and paused to examine the work in progress. She was painting the meadow now; even though she had painted this place many times before, something felt different. Perhaps it was because she had been granted a second chance - her only memory of this place was of bittersweet farewells and ending.

" _Will we meet again sometime?"_

" _Sure we will."_

" _Promise?"_

" _Promise. Now go, and don't look back."_

The woman quietly stared at the soft cushion of grass around her little pale feet as she wondered if that promise still held any water.

Lin nudged her. "Who are you thinking about?"

"Haku," she responded honestly. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to see him again."

"Sure you can. Even if he doesn't come this time you can just come back again anytime to visit. He's bound to show up at the same time as you eventually."

"Once I leave the Spirit Realm I'm not sure if I can come back again. The Mirror was closed for a long while and that's why I couldn't come back for the past twelve years."

"Right... I almost forgot. Tch. How annoying. I should go ask Haku when he comes again about that - the whole mystery about the Mirror involves a lot of theologies that he learned under Yubaba and Zeniba, so maybe he will have a solution for that."

Chihiro hummed. "Hopefully it doesn't take too long for him to think of something - I don't have much time to continue waiting for him like this." She sighed, shoulders sagging as she leaned against the older spirit. "Maybe I won't get to see him again."

A smile touched the spirit's lips. "Sure you will. I don't know about the other side, but over here, we believe very much in something called Fate. And I think since Fate brought the two of you together twelve years ago, She probably has more plans for the two of you."

"Fate, huh?" Chihiro glanced upward at the empty blue sky and thought to herself that if Fate really did exist, that She would fulfil that promise in his stead.

* * *

Chihiro had to stop her tour of the small town area prematurely because she took too long at the meadow. By then the sky had turned darker and Lin insisted that they return to the bathhouse at once before anyone else saw her.

So Chihiro was now back in the boiler room, lying down on a spare futon that Kamaji had given her to use and looking through her work for the day. If only she had some wi-fi connection now; she was too eager to post these online. As she flipped through her sketchbook gazing at her new drawings, a comfortable warmth filled her chest and her lips subconsciously stretched into a wide smile.

Kamaji must have noticed it, because some time later Chihiro noticed that he had been chuckling to himself while glancing at her sketchbook as he went about his work. "I never knew you were this talented, Chihiro," he commented. "These paintings are beautiful."

"Thanks," Chihiro grinned, looking down at her stained hands. She looked like a mess. "I don't ever want to forget this place." It held far too many precious memories for her, and the thought of leaving made her feel sad once again.

"You won't ever forget, even if you wanted to. That's love: it imprints things and people onto your heart so you'll always remember."

Too bad she wouldn't be able to remember anything once she left for good. Chihiro swallowed thickly as the thought of slipping into eternal darkness entered her mind again. She shook her head in an effort to shake those thoughts off. Now wasn't the time to be thinking such morbid thoughts; her time here was too precious for that.

"I think I'll go out to get some air," Chihiro said, before getting up. Her head was still aching and maybe it was because it was too stuffy in here. As she stood, a sudden wave of dizziness made her stumble backwards. She barely managed to regain her balance, and when she did she pressed her thumbs against her temples, rubbing it to alleviate some of the pain. Was she really falling sick?

"Chihiro, are you feeling alright? You look rather pale."

She sat back down on the futon and replied, "It's just a headache... I've been having it since yesterday."

"Then you should lie down and rest. And hydrate yourself more." He poured her a two tall glasses of water from his kettle and then insisted that she go to bed immediately. Chihiro frowned as she stared up at the ceiling, hoping this wouldn't turn into a big fever or something.

* * *

It was the third afternoon of her stay before she knew it. Chihiro had slept in a little longer than expected, but when she woke up her headache had disappeared, which was a good sign. So she left the bathhouse with her bag, hoping to explore more of the quaint town that the bathhouse was situated in. Lin had offered to accompany her, but the heavy eye bags beneath her eyes was indicative of her need for rest, and Chihiro had insisted she stay to get some well-needed sleep. Lin had been working so much for the past few days, Chihiro was worried that she would collapse or something. And she doubted Yubaba offered her employees medical attention or rest days.

So after promising the paranoid spirit that she would be back early and that she would not wander off too far, Chihiro went on her way. The town was empty - aside from some cooking food left in the open that the human knew better than to touch, there was nothing else to indicate any form of life around here. The only thing that filled the air was Chihiro's light footsteps and the occasional whisper of the wind in her ear.

At least that meant she could take her time here without fear of being spotted by some hostile spirits. She wandered down the street, taking her time to sketch some of the buildings which she found stylishly vintage. It was strange how this poor-looking, dilapidated town could become so busy and rich with life in the night. If only she could actually have the chance to check this place out at night even with the spirits roaming. But then, the only spell she could remember that Haku cast on her to make her appear invisible involved her holding her breath, so she supposed observing the nightlife here for more than a minute would not be possible.

As Chihiro arrived at the large, expansive meadow again, she decided to see where it came to an end if she explored the path to her left. Following the direction where the back of the bathhouse faced, she eventually came to a stop when the lush green grass met a clear blue river.

A small smile played on her lips as she recalled the time she had came out here to take the train to Zeniba's cottage. Gazing out across the endless sea of blue towards the horizon where the beautiful white clouds kissed the surface of the quiet ocean, Chihiro contemplated going in and taking a short swim towards the path that led to the train station. If her memory did not fail her, she would probably be able to get there quickly. The idea of getting wet didn't appeal much to her, but in this weather she would dry off quickly, and there was no other way, unless she snuck out the kitchen backdoor of the bathhouse which would be even more dangerous.

After removing her shoes and placing them neatly on the grass, Chihiro took her bag with her. The water was about chest level so it wasn't too bad - aside from having to ask for clean undergarments from Lin later. Wading her way through the comfortably cool waters, Chihiro vaguely thought about the time she had lost her shoe in the Kohaku River. She couldn't remember much because she had been so little, but the memory of her first time holding on to those big, strong horns of his as he guided her out of harm's way was still relatively clear.

Chihiro sighed. If only she had another chance to visit the Kohaku River. Or better yet, its guardian.

Soon enough, Chihiro arrived at the back of the bathhouse where the train tracks were. Relief flooded her - she had been wondering for a while if she was going the wrong way. Stepping up onto the higher platform, she swung her bag over her shoulder and wrung her clothes out. Drips of water splashed down softly from her now crumpled clothes.

Although she would love to sit on the platform just behind her to draw the landscape here, there was always a chance of being spotted by some random bathhouse employee should he or she open the back door. So she began walking down the tracks, enjoying the relaxing feel of the smooth stones beneath her feet. Chihiro grinned to herself. Oh, if only she had a train ticket with her so she could go visit Zeniba.

The wooden platform sat quietly in the middle of the blue waters, and Chihiro let out a content sigh as she plopped down on it. Setting her bag down on a clean, dry spot next to her, Chihiro took out her art supplies and immediately got to drawing. It was windy out, so she had some trouble finding a paper weight to keep the pages of her sketchbook down. The woman shivered as the cold began to seep into her skin.

Well, this couldn't be good. She had better return quickly before she caught a cold.

* * *

It was one of those days again. As much as he hated having to return to the wretched building where he had been trapped for decades, it was still better than staying put in the shelter. Everything there reminded him of her, especially so in the past few days, where the atmosphere of the shelter had become somewhat gloomy. The people around him were more wary of him, often casting sideways glances at him as if he were a ticking time bomb when they thought he didn't notice.

Not that he blamed them. He had been in an especially foul mood which he had not bothered to disguise in any way. Thankfully, the spirits there were understanding enough to not take his rudeness to heart.

In any case, he shouldn't be thinking about that today. That was the reason he had taken leave from his work - to stop thinking about her. Then again, when had it ever worked? She was like a shadow in the recesses of his mind, permanently glued to him, destined to haunt him forever.

His mood fell sharply again, and he gave a loud growl to vent his frustration. At least no one would bother him up here where the clouds and wind were his only companions. Exhaling heavily through his nostrils, he closed his eyes and focused his attention on the lazy strokes of wind against his scaly body. _Relax, relax._ This was his purpose of flying all the way out here - to _relax,_ not to dwell on thoughts of her.

Without realizing it, the afternoon had already gone by in a blur. Time up here always seemed to pass so too quickly. The Sun had already gone down and it was dark - he should probably visit the bathhouse before it reached its peak hours of business. Lin was never in a good mood when things got busy.

Ever since becoming the new floor manager of the bathhouse, Lin had become more short-tempered, her sharp-tongue acting up at the slightest things, although he knew that she was simply overworked and too stressed. He had taken it upon himself many times to look through the employment policies, but Yubaba was smart - she always made sure to adhere to the bare minimum of providing welfare for her servants. And with the added workload, Lin was one of the few bearing the brunt of it all.

He had been floor manager once, when he just started working for Yubaba, and it was one of the worst times of his life. The title may have been a notch up above the younger and fresher yunas, but it simply meant having to deal with their nasty attitudes and cleaning up after them when they did a poor job, or it meant getting punished by those higher in the ranks.

If only he could do something about that contract; then she would be free to do anything that so pleased her.

The dragon landed a short distance away from the bridge, and reverted into his human form. The wooden bridge was filled with spirits from all walks of life. He recognized some of the old regulars around. Some of them noticed him and greeted him with a smile, to which he returned with a respectful nod.

"Master Haku! You're back!" Aogaeru exclaimed at the entrance, jumping up so he could sit on the railing. "What brings you here today?"

"Just a visit to see how Lin and Kamaji are," he replied. "I trust you have been doing well?"

"Same as ever. Customers nowadays are more generous with their tips, so we've been doing pretty well."

"That's good to hear. I will be going now."

The frog spirit stopped him. "Would you like me to make special arrangements for a single room for you, Master Haku?"

"I'm no longer 'Master Haku' around here," the man said. "And there will be no need for that."

The air in the bathhouse was hot as usual, and it smelled of soap that reeked powerfully of sweet spices and herbs that sickened him. He had always detested that stench, but Yubaba insisted that it was relaxing for the customers. No matter, the bathhouse's matters hardly concerned him anymore.

A sudden sharp cry of dismay on the second floor caught his attention, followed by an angry groan that sounded very much like Lin's. With a raised eyebrow, he concluded that some yuna must have messed up again. Regrettable.

Deciding that Lin had enough to handle without seeing his face, he decided to leave for the boiler room. Along the way many yunas attempted to make small talk with him for incomprehensible reasons, and with no patience left to bear he simply snarled at them before continuing on his way.

When he arrived in the boiler room, Kamaji was grumpily ordering the soot balls around as usual, and everything seemed to be the same, except for one thing...

"A human," he declared after a moment of deliberating. "I smell it."

"You can smell a human in this room?" Kamaji asked, raising his eyebrow.

"A scent lingers," he said. "She must have left a couple of hours ago."

"Well, you might be right about that," Kamaji answered vaguely.

Furrowing his brows, the dragon spirit stared pointedly at the older spirit. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm saying that there may be a visitor after all... Any idea who it could be?"

The man simply continued to stare quietly. The only human they both knew was... But it couldn't be. That was impossible. The Mirror had been closed for so long; how could she have gotten past it?

"That look on your face... you don't believe it?" Kamaji asked.

"Of course not," he replied, "the Mirror has been shut for the past decade - it would be impossible for it to open again so soon."

Kamaji nodded. "Perhaps. But sometimes the impossible still happens anyway. Ask Lin to confirm it for yourself."

And so he left for the main halls of the bathhouse again in search of the white fox spirit. For a white fox spirit who was supposedly said to bring happiness to all, she wasn't very happy herself. It did not take long for him to track her down by listening out for her frustrated sighs and loud groans.

"Lin."

" _What?_ " said woman snapped with a glare, but upon noticing that it was him, her eyes softened. "I didn't think you would be back so soon."

"Well, things happened," he replied drily, not wanting to elaborate further. "You've been storming about ever since I came in. What happened?"

"I groaned too many times to remember what happened," Lin answered with frown. "But it's the same thing - fresh yunas messing up as usual. Their stupidity is a real talent. The fact that so many of them are eyeing you just makes it even more true."

He narrowed his eyes at her, but decided to let it go. Then, remembering why he had come to look for her, he began, "I went to the boiler room earlier."

At the mention of the boiler room her eyes suddenly lit up. Lin took a step towards him, and after making sure no one was within earshot of them, muttered, "So, did you see her?"

"The human?"

That earned him a hard slap on the shoulder. "You could at least call her by her name! It's Chihiro, remember?"

 _Chihiro._

Haku felt like he had the wind knocked out of him all of a sudden. "You are sure that she has... returned?" he asked again, still in disbelief. It couldn't be. She was never supposed to come back.

"Of course." Lin furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Didn't you see her in the boiler room?"

"No... I could only smell the lingering scent of a human. Where is she?"

"She's not there...?" Haku watched as the colour from Lin's face drained and her lips parted in shock. "She insisted on going out this afternoon to explore the town a little, but she promised she would come back early and that she wouldn't wander too far. If she's not with Kamaji, then..." Lin paused for a moment, before straightening up and marching furiously towards the lift.

Haku followed after her. "Where are you going?"

"To find her."

"You can't leave like that. You're on duty."

"Then what do you expect me to do?" she exclaimed. "Chihiro is out there alone and she could be in danger for all I know! That stupid girl, I told her to come back as soon as she could. I _knew_ I should have gone with her. This is all my fault!"

"This is not the time to be blaming yourself," Haku replied levelly. "I'll go and look for her. I will bring her back safely."

"I'll go with you."

"No, you stay here, because I don't want Yubaba to hold anything against you for not doing your job. Go back to whatever you were doing and leave it to me."

Lin squeezed his arm and stared at him with moist eyes. "Please, make sure she's safe."

"I promise she'll be back soon." Without another word, the dragon leapt off the railing and left the bathhouse into the shadows of night, in search of a human girl whom he had long buried in the recesses of his mind.

* * *

A/N: Made it 1 day after my 2-week deadline. Writing the part on Haku's POV was so much more fun hehe. Okay I'm gonna grab some breakfast now and get to work so I'll see you... in early July. Ahahaha why you ask? My mid-year exams are right after the June holidays so this whole month I'm gonna be foaming at the mouth trying to squeeze lots of content in my head. :)

Depressing life aside, thanks for the reviews you guys left last chapter! Love reading from you and yup thanks for reading this story too. Love you all and I'll be back as soon as I can! Meanwhile wish me luck LOL.


	4. Fragments

**The Wait 2.0: Fragments**

It was dark. Too dark. The sky was a blanket of shadows covering the entire mass of land. The moon was nowhere in sight, and the tiny glows of lanterns from the little boats around offered no help to brighten the area. Panic welled up in the dragon as he flew around aimlessly, hoping to find something - anything indicative of the human's presence. The only thing he could depend on now was her scent, which would be far too faint by now after eating spirit food for the past two days.

Hopefully he would be able to find her somewhere onshore, safe and out of sight from other spirits. If she were to be spotted by some rogue spirits, only the gods could tell what would happen to her. Then again, it had been what, ten years since she left? Even if he saw her there was no guarantee that he would be able to recognize her. Humans changed quickly. Now she would be in her prime years, a young adult. She would have shed her child-like features by now and possess more womanly features. The way she walked, her voice, her manner of speaking would all be different.

A strange sadness filled him. He had not been able to witness her growing up into the woman she had become today. Surely she would have blossomed into a beautiful, intelligent woman from the brave little girl she used to be.

But, this was not the time to reminisce. He could do that after he found her. Haku groaned inwardly. He had no clue as to where she might have gone. Granted, the town wasn't very big, but if she happened to have wandered out to sea, then...

He paused for a bit. Perhaps there would be one place where she might have gone. That was the only place outside of the bathhouse that she knew of and he supposed it did possess some sentimental value, even though he largely doubted it. It was unlikely, but it was worth an attempt.

The dragon cut through the air, manoeuvring his way through the region which he knew at the back of his hand. He used to come here whenever he got punished by Yubaba when he first started out as her apprentice. Usually it entailed days without food, or stripping him of his magical abilities which made him vulnerable to physical abuse by the more senior and higher-ranking employees in the bathhouse. He would flee to this place, far enough that he wouldn't be able to see the accursed building, yet close enough so he could go even if he couldn't fly.

Soon, he arrived at the old train station; it was now just a sunken platform. At this time of night the train was not in service. He remembered this place as the sanctuary where he could cast aside all his fears and worries and even if just for a fleeting moment, lose himself in the beauty of the far horizon. It gave him hope that one day he would be able to leave this bathhouse and see for himself where that horizon led to.

Looking down, he scanned the area but to his disappointment, there was no sign of the woman. However, something vaguely intriguing that was floating on the surface of the waters caught his attention. In one swift motion he landed lightly on the rippling water's surface and changed into his human form. Reaching down, he picked up the strange little item to inspect it.

 _A pink shoe._

It was small, its strange design indicative of its owner as a human. Memories flooded his mind - the alarmed cry of a child in his river as she fell in with a splash, the annoyance of the little river spirits living in his river at yet another introduction of some kind of living garbage that some inconsiderate human had thrown in.

At that moment a new-found sense of panic filled him. His eyes darted back and forth, concentrating on finding the owner of this shoe. From the way things looked, she was probably somewhere in the water. If she were on any of the boats around here, he would have heard some kind of commotion by now.

But there was no sign of her directly beneath the surface from here. That was a good thing - probably - that is, if she hadn't drowned somewhere else. Even if she could swim, she would tire quickly, and the temperature of the water was far too cold for a human to withstand for long.

He gripped the slipper in his hand, bending it in his hold. It would be easier to trace her with this.

 _Hold on, I'm coming._

He returned to his dragon form before swiftly diving underwater. The cold water brushed against his hard, scaly body. Haku could not see anything; it was pitch-black beneath the surface. The moonlight and the lanterns above were barely enough to illuminate the first few _sun_ in depth.

Unable to rely on his night vision in this vast area, he closed his eyes and focused on sensing disturbances in the water. River spirits living around here would greatly repel the presence of a human more than anything; he just needed to catch the slightest hint of such a disturbance and that would be more than enough to signal her position to him.

So the dragon stilled himself and waited as he focused every inch of his being on the river spirits. They were no stranger to him, seeing that he had stayed in the bathhouse for years. Being familiar with their behavioural patterns was proving now to be an excellent advantage - perhaps one of the only advantages that had come out of serving that cunning witch.

Right then, his ears twitched as he sensed a ripple in the stillness that surrounded him. Immediately his eyes flashed open and he bolted through the waters towards the source of the disturbance.

 _Please be alright._

It seemed as if too much time had passed before he finally arrived. His eyes widened when he came to a stop, recognizing the uncharacteristic restlessness of the river spirits. He could vaguely make out the silhouette of a limp body levitating in the middle of the waters. The river spirits around it were restlessly pushing against her body - the pressure they exerted on her fragile form proving even more perilous to her life.

The dragon emitted a sharp, threatening growl that stilled the river spirits around her.

 _It truly is..._

There was no need to examine the body to know that he had found her. Without further hesitation he glided beneath her body and then swam upwards, hauling her up with him.

They emerged with a loud splash, and he waited till they were high up enough to avoid onlookers before assuming his human form and catching the unconscious woman firmly in his arms.

 _A miracle._

* * *

It was freezing cold. She couldn't breathe. As if the ocean had wrapped its claws around her neck and was squeezing tightly. Her lungs were screaming for air, and she attempted to move her limbs to swim upwards, but they were far too heavy to move.

It hurt. Pain coursed through her leg. Her head ached like someone had smashed it repeatedly with a brick. Her throat felt like it was on fire.

"Water..." she mumbled as she regained consciousness. "Water..."

"She's awake!" Chihiro heard some loud thumping on the floor which made her head hurt even more. With a groan, she tried to move, but every muscle in her body was unbelievably sore. Had she just run a marathon or something?

"Here," she heard someone who sounded like Lin say, and then there were arms around her to help her into a sitting position. They were warm, she thought to herself. Cool ceramic met her lips as Lin helped her drink it all, before laying her down on the futon again.

"What happened?" Chihiro wondered, finally registering that she was in the boiler room. It was quiet - probably morning by now? She craned her neck with some difficulty to see that Kamaji was asleep by his usual spot and the soot balls were nowhere to be found. Lin, on the other hand, looked positively furious as she returned to Chihiro's side.

"What happened?" Lin demanded, grabbing Chihiro's hand. "You almost _died,_ that's what!" A small squeak escaped the woman as she was pulled into an abrupt hug. She had been expecting Lin to hit her - after all, she had failed to keep her promise to return early.

How had she gotten back here, anyway?

"You idiot, what if something happened to you?" Lin was shaking, and guilt racked Chihiro as she hugged the older spirit back. Lin must have been worried sick.

"I'm sorry," Chihiro said. "The sun was setting by the time I realized and when I tried to get back there were a couple of bathhouse employees out back so I had to take a detour by the ocean. But then I couldn't find my way back and by then it was dark and the boats were all out and there were spirits everywhere and-"

She stopped and winced when Lin accidentally knocked into her left thigh that had been bandaged.

"I'm so sorry, I forgot about that," the fox spirit said before pulling away and insisting that she lie back down. "That's a terrible wound you got there. Your leg was covered in blood when you came back. What happened?"

"I was spotted by some spirits on the boats," she admitted with a grimace, trying to ignore the painful sting in her leg now, "and then they tried to attack me. One of their arrows or hooks must have pierced me. They pulled it out again so I recall it really hurt."

With each word Lin seemed to be getting more upset. "And you've got a fever too," she cried, "this is all my fault! I should never have let you go out there alone! If only I had been more careful..."

"Lin, I was the one who insisted on going out on my own, this has nothing to do with you," Chihiro said, hushing the distraught woman. "You look so tired," she remarked, gesturing to Lin's dark eye circles. "Did you not sleep at all?"

"I couldn't even if I wanted to; you were so sick when Haku brought you back here."

 _Haku._

Chihiro's heart skipped a beat. "Did you just say... _Haku_ brought me back? _That_ Haku? The _dragon_? Kohaku?" She had never said his name so many times in one sentence before.

"You don't remember? Well, I guess you _were_ unconscious at the time," Lin rationalized. "I would have gone out there to look for you but dragon boy insisted I stay here to do my work so he could play the big hero. Thank the gods he found you, I don't know what I would have done if he didn't bring you back safe and sound."

Chihiro looked around, scanning the boiler room. "He's not here," she said. "Where is he?"

"He went out to get some of your stuff back. Your bag and that weird sock thing you wear on your head all the time," Lin replied.

"It's not a sock; it's called a beanie." Chihiro frowned as she patted the thin mess of hair on her head. She felt some of it fall off like dead leaves on the trees in autumn, and resisted the urge to continue touching the thinning spot on her head. Oh, how she missed her beanie already.

"Sure thing. Anyway, I need to change the water," she said as she gestured to the basin of water. She removed the cloth resting on Chihiro's head and dropped it in the basin with a soft plop. "Stay here and rest up, I'll be back in a jiffy."

"Thanks, Lin," Chihiro called behind her with a smile. "You should get some rest soon."

"Not when you're looking like a leech spirit just sucked up the blood from your body."

"You're exaggerating, Lin. I'm alive and well, aren't I?"

"Not well, but very much alive, thank the gods." The sudden bass voice startled Chihiro and she jumped, looking towards the door where a man now stood.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

 _It can't be..._

He was tall, almost as tall as the entrance. He had to bend down as he entered. His shoulder-length hair fluttered in the morning breeze, brushing against his very handsome face. It looked foreign to her, yet she swore she saw the face of a young boy she met long ago in his. He wore an amiable smile as he strode towards her, gleaming dark green eyes fixated on hers. Chihiro felt something catch in her throat, and barely registered the quick greeting that he exchanged with Lin before the fox spirit exited the room.

 _Am I dreaming?_

He bent down next to her and reached out his hand. It wasn't for a handshake. Chihiro backed away slightly, unsure of what that incoming hand was for, but then it came to a rest against her forehead with a familiar tenderness.

"Your body temperature is extremely high. I already cast a mild healing spell on you so you should recover more quickly. Just stay here and rest until it gets better. How are you feeling?"

He smelled of fresh rain. Up close she had a clearer look at his face. He had certainly matured over the years, having shed his younger, more childish features. Now, before her, was a fully-grown man. She noted hints of facial hair on his upper lip, his sharper jaw line, his broader shoulders, and the toned muscle beneath the white tunic that he wore, matched with long turquoise pants.

Many things had changed, just as she had thought, but several things remained the same. His eyes still held the same kindness she found when she had been lost and alone, his big, calloused hands still as gentle as she remembered and his voice that flowed smoothly like a calm, mighty river. His shoulder-length hair was slightly tousled but otherwise was the same hairstyle as twelve years ago, and that brought a small smile to her lips. She had imagined so many hairstyle changes for him that she hadn't thought that perhaps he might have stuck to the same one.

Perhaps not everyone changed as quickly.

"Chihiro? Are you feeling alright?" The woman snapped out of her reverie and returned her attention to the now bemused man sitting in front of her.

He was waiting for her to answer him.

Her mouth went dry. She was supposed to answer him, wasn't she? But her tongue refused to budge. All she could do was stare helplessly into his eyes, as if still trying to convince herself that it was the man himself, that this wasn't just another dream of hers that would vanish the moment she reached out to touch him.

Just then, a fresh wave of pain hit her in the head and she winced, rubbing her temples with her thumbs to soothe the pain. "Does it hurt very much?" he asked, a crease appearing on his forehead in concern.

Biting down on her lip to keep from groaning, she managed a meek nod before lying back down. The leverage failed to ease the pain.

"Allow me." He reached over, placing a hand above her forehead. He began to mutter some words under his breath, which she couldn't quite catch. Was it Japanese? It didn't sound like English or any language that she could recognize... Then she felt a strange warmth radiating from his hand. It was a comforting kind of warmth, the kind you'd feel under the sun on a cold winter's day. Within seconds, some of the pain subsided.

"This should lessen some of the pain," he said, withdrawing his hand.

How nostalgic. It reminded her of the time when he gave her special onigiri that he had cast a spell on to make her get stronger quicker. Feeling slightly better now, Chihiro sat up again, feeling a little embarrassed to be lying down with him beside her. "Thanks," she muttered. She felt her body begin to heat up, though if it was because of the fever or the awkwardness she couldn't tell.

"Lin... she said you brought me back here?" she asked, finally mustering the courage to meet his eyes.

"Yes, I did," he replied. "I believe these belong to you?" He held up the bag that he had brought with him, a thick, navy blue beanie and her pink sneakers.

Both surprised and relieved, Chihiro hastily accepted the bag and rummaged through it to make sure that nothing had been lost. Thankfully most of her things were inside, save for two of her older brushes. Her sketch books were all intact, and so were some of her drawings, except that the watercolour paintings looked... distinctly more washed out than she remembered...

He must have noticed her rather glum expression, so he explained, "I took the liberty of drying your things since they all fell in the water... Did I miss anything?"

Chihiro shook her head, trying to ignore the gaping hole in her heart. All her precious drawings... It was a pity, but she was fortunate enough to even get her things back - she would just have to paint those again another time.

"No, it's fine, thank you for bringing these back," she smiled, closing her sketchbook and putting it away in the bag, not wanting to look at it for a while. At least, not until she got over her loss. She found her beanie dry, and happily she put it back on. It was her security blanket of sorts. "I don't know what I would have done if I lost my sketchbooks. They're really important to me."

"You're welcome," he replied, lifting the corners of his lips slightly.

"So..." she began, "How... How have you been, Haku?" Calling him by his name felt surreal; her heart was beating faster in thrill.

"I've been... fine," he replied vaguely. "How about you?"

"I've been... fine," she answered. A half-truth. "Kamaji mentioned that you opened a shelter and that you joined the Shu... Shugorei?"

"Ah, Kamaji... It's nothing much. I joined the Shugorei simply to earn a living and to hone my wizardry. And the shelter..." he trailed off suddenly, causing her to raise an eyebrow. "Ah, right," he muttered hastily when he snapped out of his little daze. "It's now a home for homeless spirits like myself."

"Homeless?" she echoed. "You mean, because your river..?"

His lips curled faintly. "Yes."

"Well, it seems that you've been living well," she said with a small smile. "That's good."

"I could say the same for you. I caught a glimpse of your artworks earlier. I never knew you were so talented," he remarked.

"It's nothing," she exhaled in a little laugh. "It's just... something I picked up after leaving this place." Could he have seen the dragons that she had drawn? Hopefully not.

"I see."

The next few minutes passed in awkward silence, with Chihiro at a complete loss for words. Several conversation starters crossed her mind, but each time she opened her mouth to speak, her determination would somehow deflate and she in the end she would simply keep mum and wait for the man to hopefully say something. He didn't, however, seemingly content with just staring at the floor, deep in his thoughts.

For now, the best course of action seemed to be to simply keep quiet and stare at something else until one of them spoke up. It was silly; the atmosphere between them was the kind you'd expect of two complete strangers being forced to interact with each other. Weren't they closer than this? Or at the very least, they used to be.

Chihiro stole a glance at the man, who, though resembled his former, young self, seemed to have become more distant. While some distance was expected, given the twelve-year gap in their friendship, it felt like their conversation from before consisted of nothing but masks of politeness and courtesy; nothing like the carefree casual talk one could enjoy with friends. Haku seemed tense, uncomfortable and distracted; he was anything but happy to be here alone with her, it seemed.

After what seemed like an eternity, the man finally broke the silence.

"Something has been weighing on my mind for a while," he spoke, straightening up into a more business-like posture. "How did you come back?"

She looked up at him, not having expected the question.

"...I walked through the tunnel?" she replied hesitantly, unsure of the answer that he was looking for. He looked very, very confused and worried.

"You haven't been able to return through the Mirror for the past twelve years, I assume?" he prodded further.

"No," she answered, "the tunnel was always blocked by some kind of invisible wall, and it was only a few days back that I found the wall gone."

"That is strange..." he muttered, the frown etched on his face deepening. "The Mirror isn't suppose to open for almost another century... That's how it's always been."

Suddenly, he stood up. "I will need to investigate this further," he declared. "Stay here and rest up, and once you're feeling better you should go back to the human side. It's not safe to stay here for too long," he added.

Before Chihiro could say anything in reply, he was out the door with a gust of wind in his wake. The door quietly shut behind him, and the woman was left with a bunch of questions that she could not dwell on because it was then that Lin appeared with another basin of water and began fussing over her once again.

Before she fell asleep again later that evening, Chihiro's mind couldn't help but linger on what the man said earlier:

" _The Mirror isn't suppose to open for almost another century... That's how it's always been."_

If he knew that much twelve years ago, what did that make the promise that he made her before?

She must be over-thinking; it might be the fever. In any case, she had to get well soon so she could go home. This was already the third night she had been here, and while her mother not too strict with her, staying away from home for too long would only add to her stress.

But, once she left, would she get to come back and see them again?

" _Sure we will."_

A promise was a promise, but...

Chihiro closed her eyes, hiding in the darkness that she alone could see.

 _I hope this promise wasn't made to be broken._

* * *

A/N: _'Sun'_ is a traditional unit of measurement in Japan. 1 _sun_ is approximately 3cm (metric).

Thanks for reading and for reviewing the previous chapter, I really appreciate every single review! (: I'll try to update as soon as I can yeah. Have a great day!


	5. A Thousand-year-old Grievance

**The Wait 2.0: A Thousand-year-old Grievance**

"What are your thoughts on this, Tadashi?"

"...Well," the man began, "I guess it'd be worth looking into... If there's a crack in the Mirror when it's nowhere close to the next century, it's probably someone else's doing, although I can't think of why anyone would want to do that. And it takes a lot to create a crack that allows humans to freely pass through."

Haku pursed his lips and folded his arms across his chest, deep in thought. If even Tadashi, the team's most reliable source of inside information, didn't know about the crack, that means this information had yet to be made known to the Shugorei. He returned his gaze to the projection of his colleague sitting on the floor, and sighed when he saw him yawn for the tenth time in the seven-minute duration of their conversation. "Tadashi," he called, watching as the man slowly returned his attention to him, "I would like you to look up old case files of spirits who have attempted to tamper with the Mirror prior to this."

"Some of them are really old," Tadashi remarked flatly, "as in, _millenniums_ old. You want me to check up on _all_ of that?"

"It could give us a clue or lead as to what might be going on with the Mirror. As you said, there has to be someone behind this."

"Or it could just be the Mirror acting up. It _has_ been a couple of millennia since the Ancients created it, after all. And it's still pretty much a mystery to everyone. For all we know, this crack could simply be an alien phenomenon to us. Besides, Makoto won't be happy if I waste our resources on this," he added.

"Don't worry, I will personally contact Makoto to alert him on the situation," Haku replied, unimpressed by his sloppy excuses. "Just do as I say for now."

Tadashi raked his hands through his messy raven black hair, mussing it up. He shot a glower at Haku. "Great, extra work. And here I thought I would get more time to sleep after completing all my quote of assignments for the month early."

The dragon's lips softened into a smile. "You have my thanks, Tadashi. I will return the favour in time."

"Then I expect a lifetime's supply of roasted newts when I'm done," Tadashi muttered under his breath, before his projection vanished and the _shikigami_ fell back limply onto the tatami mat in front of Haku, who rolled his eyes and retrieved it, inserting it into his sleeve. Tadashi was difficult, but thankfully he was less difficult today. He must have recognized the gravity of the situation as well, even if it would take anyone with half a brain to know that this wasn't an issue to take lightly.

Now to deal with Makoto... Haku pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes and thinking to himself how the matter would get blown out of proportion is this issue were to be made known to the Shugorei. Makoto would hardly be pleased and would be quick to order a search for any humans who could have already slipped through the crack. Knowing him, this could put Chihiro's life in danger, should they manage to find her.

 _Chihiro._ It still felt weird saying her name like that in his mind; she wasn't supposed to exist in his life anymore after she was spirited away the last time, but almost miraculously, she had appeared before him once more. He supposed he must have hardly looked thrilled to see her again after almost a decade of not seeing her, since he had been too preoccupied with the implications of the precarious situation she was in. Her disappointment earlier hadn't gone unnoticed by him. He supposed he should have a chat with her after not seeing each other for so long, and considering that it would likely be the last time he would see her again. In any case, it would certainly be for the best if she could leave sooner.

Until then, he would need to make sure that she wouldn't be spotted by anyone, not even the bathhouse witch, which meant securing Lin's help in ensuring that she focused on recuperating instead of wandering about needlessly. In the event Tadashi made this information known to the rest of the team and the higher-ups before he contacted Makoto, only the gods would know how quickly it would take to put up a search warrant and reward for finding any stray humans, which Yubaba would gladly take up if she already knew that Chihiro was here.

"Lord Haku, may I enter?" came a soft rap on the door. His eyes shifted to the door and gave a curt reply of "Come in." The door slid open quietly, revealing a yuna who bowed in greeting.

"What is it?" he asked, getting up. It was nearing closing hours now, so it was unusual for one to still be serving customers at this time.

Offering him a courteous smile, she answered, "Mistress Yubaba has requested to see you in her office."

Immediately his gaze hardened, his sharp look unable to faze the woman standing in front of him, however. He eyed her warily, but her kimono did not seem to be hiding anything in particular. He couldn't sense any ill-will from her either. From her composed and confident demeanour, it was likely that she was Yubaba's new personal assistant, hired just a few months ago, according to Kamaji and Lin. He had never met her in person, however.

"What is it that she wishes to discuss with me?" he questioned.

The yuna maintained that polite smile on her face as she kept her unreadable gaze fixed on his. "She merely requested for me to usher you to her office. She said that it's urgent, and that it's regarding a thousand-year-old grievance."

Haku took a moment to register this. _A thousand-year-old grievance..?_ Clearly she did not mean it literally — neither of them had lived to a thousand years. Why would Yubaba wish to talk about a 'thousand-year-old grievance' with him? He had cut off all ties with her and the bathhouse long ago, and he knew nothing about a thousand-year-old grievance that could have any relation to both him and her. Unless...

 _Sen._

No, no, it couldn't be. Of all things... Could it be that Yubaba already knew about Chihiro's presence? Haku felt a bad feeling stirring in his gut as he considered this. He had thought that Chihiro had gone unnoticed by the witch since the bathhouse appeared to be functioning normally with no mention or alarm of a human around. It seemed the workers were still unaware of this.

"Lord Haku, you seem upset. Would you like a cup of tea to soothe your nerves before meeting Mistress Yubaba?" the yuna asked, the almost invisible haughty gleam in her eyes not going unnoticed by the shrewd man.

"No need," he snapped, glaring at her. "I will go there myself."

"As you wish, Lord Haku," she murmured, bowing her head slightly before leaving the room.

The nerve of that damned yuna. Clenching his fists, Haku continued to glare at the door where the yuna was standing before, his mind swirling with schemes that Yubaba could possibly be plotting. That witch was relatively easy to understand, since all her narrow mind could think about was gold. Perhaps she was still holding a grudge against Chihiro for the massive losses incurred back then. But knowing Yubaba, if she were holding a grudge then she would not have wasted any time in getting rid of Chihiro. Why call him to her office to talk? There had to be something strange going on behind the scenes.

He would have to get answers from that witch then. The corridors were dimly lit, with most customers all in their rooms resting. Only a few workers on cleaning duty were left, mopping up the floors and clearing dirty dishes. They muttered greetings to him as he strode past them towards the elevator to the top floor. It didn't take long for the elevator to reach the top, and he exited to the dark corridor which led to the large, double doors to her office.

Knob was awake, and he spotted the man approaching him quickly. "Took you long enough," he muttered grumpily, before opening the doors to let Haku enter. "She's been waiting for a while."

Saying nothing, Haku stepped in, instantly greeted by the dizzying ornamental design of the maze that her office was. It still looked so tacky. That witch did have some strange tastes.

Haku quietly made his way through the halls that brought up many unpleasant memories. Memories of secret missions that he didn't understand and didn't wish to do but had to carry out anyway, of having to push innocent workers down the furnace to their deaths, of watching her count her gold while the poor workers slaved downstairs.

There really were no words for how much he detested her.

He finally arrived at her main office, which was dimly lit by the lamp on her desk and the fireplace. The room smelled heavily of tabacco, which did little to make the dragon any less unhappy with this situation. Yubaba was seated by her desk, furiously scribbling away at something on her desk, the angry frown on her face indicating that she was signing some payment forms at the moment.

"So you came," she said drily, looking up and setting her pen down. "I thought you wouldn't come. Here, have a seat," she gestured to the front of her desk and a chair from the opposite end of the room came flying towards it. It barely missed his ear as it whizzed past him.

Folding his arms across his chest, he snapped in reply, "Let's skip the formalities, Yubaba. State your business and let us get this over and done with."

"It seems my little apprentice isn't very happy to see his master even though we barely get to talk these days," she clicked her tongue, smirking as she removed her glasses and leaned back in her seat. "You still haven't gotten rid of that horrid temper of yours, huh."

"If you called me here for a meaningless late-night conversation, I'm afraid I'm not interested." The man turned around, ready to storm out.

"Have you seen her? That thousand-year-old grievance that cost me so much gold back in the day," she asked, freezing him in his tracks. A delightful snicker escaped her lips as she added, "I guess you already have."

"What do you want, Yubaba?" he demanded, eyes hardening as he stared at her in the eye.

"Nothing, really," the witch answered dismissively, opening her drawer to take out a cigar. She lit it with her index finger, inhaling deeply and releasing a mouthful of smoke into the air. "I was just curious to know how you would react knowing that your little human girlfriend has returned out of the blue, when the Mirror is supposed to be sealed... Investigating that is your job, no?"

"My responsibilities are none of your business, witch."

"I wonder what the Shugorei would do if this information were to get out... Would she be tortured and killed? Perhaps it would be better if I turned her into a pig so she would die a less painful death."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I will personally deal with this matter. It is none of your concern how we operate."

"Yes, yes, of course," she muttered, rolling her eyes and exhaling another breath of smoke towards him. "So how have you been, Haku? Still looking up crimes that you can accuse me, an honest and upright businesswoman for? Your loyalty to your friends is commendable, but I have to wonder if it's really loyalty or simply hate and ungratefulness towards your old mentor."

"Both reasons have the same end-goal: to put the likes of you in the Dungeons for good."

"Come now, Haku, is that the way you should be speaking to your old master? Or am I supposed to call you _Ko_ haku now, hmm?"

The man gritted his teeth. "You are no longer my master, or my mentor, Yubaba."

"That's right, you're no longer under me. I do miss those days... You used to be such an obedient boy..."

A sudden burst of wind tore through her office, sending her papers flying and the swirling smoke from her cigar pressed against the opposite wall behind the mildly startled witch. With his hands balled into fists, the dragon bared his fangs and a deep growl ripped through his throat. "I am no longer someone you can afford to mess with, witch. Consider it your good fortune that I have yet to report your dubious business to the appropriate authorities, so I suggest you watch yourself before this bathhouse is torn apart splinter from splinter and every single piece of your precious gold is thrown into the sea. And as for the girl, there is no need for you to trouble yourself with her. I will deal with her myself. That is all."

With one final, lingering glare, he turned and vanished from her office in a burst of wind that caused more pieces of paper to slap her in the face.

"Tch," she muttered, snapping her fingers to clear up the mess and shut the doors to her office, "what a troublesome dragon."

* * *

In his room, Haku lay on his futon, his anger keeping him awake. That witch really knew how to get on his nerves... He sighed. He really had to get Chihiro out of here as soon as possible. Yubaba probably wouldn't dare make a careless move on Chihiro after leaving her with that warning, but it was a fact that Yubaba remained the one with the upper-hand here. If he wanted to destroy this bathhouse and her business, he would have done it already. Heck, if he could, he would have coerced her into returning all the workers' names long ago.

Unfortunately, things were not so simple. Yubaba had connections, being the wealthy businesswoman she was. Even the higher-ups in the Shugorei were trapped in the palm of her hand. Not to mention, Lin and Kamaji were like her hostages; they prevented him from doing anything rash to the bathhouse or her. She could get rid of their names for good with just one snap of her finger, which would mean eternal wandering as the Lost spirits, spirits ranked the lowest of the social classes in the Spirit Realm.

Yubaba's bringing up of Chihiro was her way of putting him in his place, to show him that she was the one in power here, and that he should simply give up, just so that they would be allowed to survive, even if it meant working under her.

It really was troublesome to care for others.

That was why he had promised himself that she would be the last one he would allow himself to love.

Tired from thinking so much, Haku closed his eyes, a vague memory of light blue hair and gleaming blue eyes the colour of the sky surfacing in his mind before the darkness engulfed it all.

* * *

A/N: 'Sen _'_ means 'thousand' in Japanese.

Yay, finally got to write a chapter in Haku's perspective. (: It's shorter compared to my usual chapters but I thought this would be a good place to stop.

Thanks for reading and do leave a review if you have the time! (: I really appreciate the reviews from the previous chapter, thanks guys! :D


	6. One Last Time

**The Wait 2.0: One Last Time**

It was morning when Chihiro awoke. The boiler room was relatively quiet as usual, aside from Kamaji's loud snoring. Daylight streamed in through the window directly into her eyes as she sat up, and she squinted, using the back of her hand to shield herself from the glare of the sun. The moist towel on her head slipped off and fell onto her lap, and she picked it up, frowning at how warm it was. She felt considerably better than she did before, much to her surprise. Usually she took longer to recover from a fever. Haku's spell must have worked. Huh.

She dipped the towel back into the basin of water next to her that had already become lukewarm, only to find Lin sleeping in a sitting position next to the basin, with her head resting against her elbow.

Chihiro's lips spread into a smile, and she pulled her blanket off of her to cover Lin with it. She would catch a cold easily in this state. Chihiro attempted to get up, but as soon as she moved her left leg, pain struck her and she bit down on her gum to keep from uttering a groan. It still hurt a lot. Gingerly, she brushed her fingers along the thick bandage around her thigh, grimacing. How long would it take for this to heal? Not to mention, her mother would definitely freak out.

As she looked around, she spotted her bag resting a short distance away from her. She reached over, her fingers barely long enough to hook around the strap and pull it towards her. She opened the bag and retrieved her sketch book, flipping through it to look at the drawings that had been ruined because of the water. She exhaled deeply, her heart aching for her precious works. She would have to re-do some of them.

Not in the mood to do that just yet, she turned to a blank sheet and took out her art supplies. She smiled to herself, absently thinking that this would be a nice scene to paint as a keepsake. The boiler room was like her second home in the Spirit realm, after all.

Taking out her pencil, she began to do a light sketch on the pad. She wanted to commit everything to memory: the furnace, Kamaji's work station, his kettle, the little homes in which the soot balls resided, the messy futon that she had just slept on, Kamaji's sleeping figure snug under his blanket, and Lin, sleeping next to her. Warmth pooled in her heart as she drew, a smile both happy and sad playing on her lips.

If only she could stay here longer, or come here as often as she wished. But from what Haku had said yesterday, it seemed that would be far too dangerous to do.

Speaking of which, she wondered where Haku was... Well, not that she really wanted to spend more alone time with him. Yesterday had proven awkward enough between the two of them, even though she had been elated to see him again. She was still conscious of the fact that Haku may have not taken the promise he made to her twelve years ago as seriously as she did, if he had even remembered it at all.

Chihiro admitted to feeling sour about it, even if it seemed petty of her. Sure, it was just a promise made between two children in the past — but still, it had mattered to her, as silly as it sounded.

But, she supposed it was to be expected. Having grown up now, she knew that people tended to change. Things like pinky promises only existed in memories and childhood. Anyway, she would just have to get over her bitter feelings, since she wouldn't be staying much longer. Since she was already feeling better, she should leave quickly before her mother got worried. Hopefully Ayano had been able to cover for her so far.

Just then, the door to the boiler room opened, startling the woman. Chihiro jumped, sending her pencil flying across the paper and creating a long, ugly gash on the page. Slightly annoyed, she glanced up to see who had arrived. The door was closed quietly and then Haku emerged from the shadows. He wasn't asleep? She had always thought that spirits were nocturnal.

He was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday. He stood there quietly, scanning the boiler room. He seemed to note Lin's strange sleeping position with some amusement. Then his gaze came to rest on her, mouthing a quick 'Good morning' before approaching her.

Placing her sketchbook and pencils on the floor next to her, mouthing a greeting in return. "How are you feeling?" he whispered.

"I'm feeling much better now, thank you."

"That's good," he murmured, eyes trailing past her shoulder to the things messily placed on the floor. Raising his eyebrow, he asked, "Did I interrupt you in the middle of something?"

"Not at all," she replied, smiling, "I was just doing some sketching to pass the time. I didn't know you'd be up at this time."

"I wanted to speak to you. We didn't get much of a chance to speak yesterday, my apologies."

"Oh, um, sure," she said, slightly surprised and a little wary about this. She waited for him to speak, but then he gestured to the door. "We should bring this conversation outside, so we don't wake the others."

"Right," she nodded. "It's just that... I can't really move." She pointed to her miserable limb. "It still hurts."

"I see. Well then, please forgive my rudeness." She took a moment to register what he meant by that until he put an arm around her shoulders and another under he knees, hoisting her up into the air carefully.

"Haku, it's fine," she protested, not used to having a man carry her like this, "You could have just helped me stand up."

"This would have been faster," he replied, to which she couldn't argue with. It would take just a couple of steps to reach the door anyway.

Outside, the strong morning breeze that greeted her prompted goose bumps to appear on her arms. She folded her arms across her chest, rubbing her arms to get some warmth. "I'll put you down now," he said, before slowly letting her down, allowing her to lean on him for some support as she got used to adjusting her weight appropriately so that her wound would not hurt.

"Thanks," she smiled. Looking out at the grand landscape before her, her lips spread into a wide grin. "The view here is amazing," she breathed, suppressing the urge to dash back in to get her sketchbook. It didn't seem to have changed all that much from the last time she had been here, but seeing it now, after getting rid of her fear of heights, she was able to appreciate it much more. From up here, she could see the vast expanse of the calm ocean. Its clear blue waters, with occasional spots of white clouds reflected in it made it seem like a mirror of the sky.

"Here," Haku said, draping a blanket that he had just gone back to retrieve over her shoulders. "It's a little chilly out here."

"Thank you," she smiled, pulling the edges of the blanket closer to her chest. Ah, that felt nice. She looked sideways and found Haku staring out at the scenery as well, with an unreadable expression settling on his features.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Looking slightly puzzled, he turned back to her. "Penny... for my thoughts..?" he echoed, not understanding what she had just asked.

With a chuckle, she replied, "I was asking what you were thinking about. You look like you have a lot of things on your mind today."

"Oh, I see. Hmm. I suppose I do have a lot of things on my mind today..."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

He shook his head. "It's quite alright. I just want to spend some time with you, since we did not get much of a chance to do so yesterday."

"That sounds great. So many things have changed since I left... You've changed quite a lot too."

"I could say the same about you," he smiled, gazing at her. "You have changed a lot from the girl I met back then."

"I hope that's a good thing."

"It is." The man chuckled, prompting her to respond in kind as well. "But I must say, you look quite thin. Are you eating well?" she asked.

She shrugged. "I am... it's just a medical condition that I have."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked.

"I doubt it," she replied. "It's not something as simple as a cold. But don't worry about it. Anyway, let's not talk about that. You didn't exactly tell me more about the shelter where you live in now, or about the Shugorei. I want to know more."

He gave a small laugh. "There's really nothing much I can say... The shelter is just a home for me and other homeless spirits now. It's located in a remote area close to the mountains, so sometimes it can get a little chilly for the children living there."

"Children?" she echoed, surprised. "How young are they? Were they abandoned by their parents?"

"The youngest we have is a twenty-year-old infant," he replied. "Abandoned by their parents? Well, some of them were left to their own devices quite prematurely. But that is common amongst spirits. Parents leave their children the moment the child is able to walk. Most of the children here were kidnapped or exploited by criminals and left with no home to stay in."

"That's horrible..." Chihiro muttered in disbelief, not voicing her shock at being just slightly older than a mere spirit infant. "How could anyone do that to a child?"

"All evil spirits and humans exist within their realms," he said grimly. "It's an unfortunate reality."

"I guess... Thanks, Haku."

He raised an eyebrow, wearing an amused smile. "What are you thanking me for?"

"For building that shelter. I think it's wonderful that you did something like that for other spirits," she smiled. "And in the Shugorei you apprehend these criminals... It must be great to be able to help others and protect them."

"Yes... Indeed it is."

Chihiro emitted a tiny sigh. _Instead... I'm nothing but a parasite._

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked, and she looked up to find that he was offering her that kind face again. She couldn't help her lips curling up and the chuckle that came after. Some things just never changed. He could give her a peculiar sense of security just with that one expression.

"It's nothing," she answered, shaking her head. "I was just... thinking about some things. I would love to visit your shelter another time, if that's possible."

He paused for a moment, seeming to deliberate something as a frown began to appear on his face. Had she said something wrong?

Before she could take back her words, he changed the subject, questioning, "Did you meet Yubaba before this?"

"Yes..." What an odd question to ask all of a sudden. "When I arrived at the bathhouse I was tied up and everything and I was taken to her office." With a huff, she added, "She's still as nasty as always."

"Did she do anything in particular to you?"

"Other than throwing my bag into the dumpster, no, she didn't do anything. Why do you ask?" she questioned, curious about why he looked so troubled.

"...I think it would be best for you to leave as soon as you can. And don't come back again."

"...What?"

"I apologize for saying it so bluntly, Chihiro, but you must leave. It's not safe for you anymore."

"I can understand leaving as soon as I can, but... not ever coming back again?" She searched his eyes for some kind of hope that she could come back, but there was none. "Haku, I... I don't want to."

"It's not about whether you want to or not, Chihiro," he sighed, sounding quite vexed. "Your life is at stake here. You're a human. You're not supposed to be here."

"Is it because the Mirror isn't supposed to be open? For another century?"

He paused for a moment. "How did you know about that?"

"You were thinking aloud to yourself yesterday before you left the boiler room," she answered, turning away. "Did you know about this when you made that promise to me the other time?" Her voice was much quieter, a part of her hoping that if he didn't hear it, she could still keep that beautiful memory for herself.

"Promise..?" Her heart sank as she watched him ponder for a while, searching through the recesses of his memory for that promise that she had held so dearly in her heart for so long.

"Never mind," she muttered after a while. "I'm just being stupid."

"Are you referring to that time when we parted?" he asked. "I believe I promised you we would meet again."

"Yes, you did," she murmured, her eyes beginning to well up with tears, much to her annoyance. She turned away, hoping that he would not notice. She shouldn't cry. She wouldn't cry. This was far too trivial a matter to cry over. What was she, a child? That promise from long ago meant nothing. It was just something that he had said, probably in an effort not to make their farewell too sad for her, since it was supposed to be her last time seeing them, after all.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't think you would remember that. I merely said it so it would be easier for you to-"

"I understand," she interjected, not wanting to hear anymore. "I was just being silly, that's all. A promise like that... it was just to soothe a child. I know... Um, sorry, but I'm still feeling quite unwell, so I'll be going back in." She began to limp back, ignoring the sharp sting in her leg with her irregular movements.

She was stopped by a strong hand on her arm. "Let me help you," the kind voice offered.

"No, I don't need any," she said, glancing behind her shoulder and managing a smile before turning back to the metal door of the boiler room.

"...I'm not a child anymore."

* * *

Haku was idly pacing about outside the boiler room, waiting for Chihiro, Lin and Kamaji to finish bidding their farewells. It had been almost an hour now, and it did not seem like they would be done soon, and understandably so.

Kamaji had suggested for him to stay in the boiler room as well, but he had declined. Given what had happened the day before, his presence would probably only make her feel unnecessarily uncomfortable, and it was her final time seeing Kamaji and Lin, so he decided it would be best for him to sit that out. Besides, he was tasked with seeing her off at the Mirror since he had judged it too dangerous for Lin or Kamaji to go there. Once Chihiro left, he would be calling in reinforcements from the Shugorei to survey the area and begin investigations.

For the rest of yesterday, his mind had been on Chihiro. The sad glint in her eyes was still fresh in his mind, and it weighed on him the entire day, guilt eating away at him. It was clear that he had hurt her by making a promise to her that he knew he couldn't keep, and there really was no excuse for that. Perhaps when he made that promise, he had also simply been indulging in a ridiculous fantasy, that maybe he would meet this human who have given him back his name once more. It didn't take long for him to give up on that, however. All he could do was wish her well in his mind and hope that she would be able to live a good life back in her home.

He had explained the whole situation to Lin and Kamaji right before they were to begin their shifts last night, and both had somewhat reluctantly agreed to make sure Chihiro returned to the human side the next morning. Lin had been especially unreceptive to the news, snapping at him before storming out of the boiler room, but he trusted that she understood the gravity of the situation. Even if she had a bit of a temper, Lin knew what had to be done and would do whatever it took to keep Chihiro safe.

In the meantime, since Haku had yet to reveal that there was a crack in the Mirror to Makoto, it was up to him to make sure that there weren't any stray spirits wandering about the area and slip into the human world. The last thing he needed right now was for more trouble to break out in the boundaries that separated the two worlds.

He had already planted some _shikigami_ in the area to keep tabs on any suspicious activities going on. The day before had been uneventful, and he hoped it would be the same today. At least just for this morning, until she safely left the spirit realm.

A while later, while Haku was still lost in his thoughts, the door to the boiler room opened. Lin, Kamaji and Chihiro appeared, along with numerous soot balls crowding around their feet. Kamaji scolded them, but they refused to budge, stubbornly staying by Chihiro's feet. She laughed and squatted down, reaching a hand out to pet some of them, only to realize that the action would get her hand all covered in soot. Not that she seemed to mind.

She had changed back into the clothes she had been wearing when he first found her, with the hole in her shorts where she had been injured mended by Lin. Lin and Chihiro exchanged one last hug.

Haku cleared his throat, approaching the group. "All done?" he asked.

"Yeah," Lin said, looking up, half smiling and half scowling at him. Honestly, it was a mystery how she could make that sort of face whenever she saw him. Her eyes were red, tear streaks remaining on her cheeks. "Make sure she gets there safe."

"I will."

"You take care now, okay?" Kamaji said, as he pulled away from his hug with Chihiro. Wiping his eyes under his glasses with another arm, he smiled at her. "You'll always be my granddaughter."

"And you'll always be my grandfather, Kamaji," she replied. Then she turned around to face Haku with a smile, patting her bag. "Okay, I'm all set. Let's get going."

"Alright." Haku noted with some wonder that Chihiro didn't seem to have cried at all. Her hazel eyes were crystal clear, her face clean of any stray tears or streaks.

"You might want to stand back, in case my tail gets in the way." A bright, white light grew from his chest and then enveloped him in a flurry of scales. Within seconds, he was in his dragon form, and before his weight could break the planks beneath them he jumped off and waited just slightly below the platform near the stairs so that it would be easy for Chihiro to get on his back.

They agreed that it would be better for him to fly there since her leg injury still made it inconvenient for her to move about, and according to Lin, Chihiro had appeared to be looking forward to riding on his back again, for the last time.

Peering over the edge of the platform, he saw Chihiro staring at him in bewilderment. Well, it was to be expected. He had grown much bigger over the last few years, and it must have surprised her to see him in his dragon form again, after so long.

"What are you waiting for? Get on!" Lin teased, nudging Chihiro forward.

"R-Right..." The woman's lips remained slightly parted, and Haku couldn't tell if it was just him, but under the sun it seemed as if there were tears glistening in her eyes, like little diamonds.

He tried to be as still as possible as Chihiro got on. Her hands were curious, touching his scales running her fingers through his fur, tickling him slightly. Lin helped her to get on, though Chihiro couldn't lie on her belly and had to sit sideways so that her injury wouldn't be pressing against his body. "Hold on tight now," Lin reminded, and Chihiro responded by gripping tightly onto his horns - not without a little more prodding and touching.

"I'll always remember you, kiddo," Lin smiled, waving goodbye as another tear slid down her cheek. "You better remember me."

"I will. I love you, Lin. You too Kamaji. Take care!" Chihiro called. It sounded as if they were finally done, and so Haku slowly flew away, his movement startling the woman and causing her to yelp and hold on to him for dear life.

"Wow, I haven't done this for a while," she commented. "I mean, it's not like I have other dragon friends around... Thanks for letting me experience this for the last time, Haku."

The dragon smiled to himself, and let out a little huff in response. She chuckled, and buried her face in the tuft of hair atop his head. "I'll really miss you guys..." Her voice was barely above a whisper, and he barely managed to hear it, before feeling some moisture on his head through his fur.

Haku's smile faded.

She really was... a brave woman.

Before long, he spotted the meadow and descended. Lowering his body to the ground, he held up a leg for her to step on and get down before returning to his human form.

Looking out at the meadow again, he sighed. It looked the same as the last time they had to say goodbye here. He shot a sideways glance at her, and found her gazing at the meadow forlornly as well. The memory of the promise he made her struck his head again, filling his chest with guilt.

"Chihiro," he began, prompting her to fix her attention on him. "I just wanted to apologize again for breaking that promise. To be more precise, I lied to you. And I truly feel bad about it. Unfortunately I don't have time left to make it up to you."

She shook her head, offering him a small smile. "It's fine. You did that with good intentions so I don't blame you for that... But yes, it's sad that we don't have time left."

"If it were possible I would bring you to the shelter and introduce you to the spirits there. You would have loved them, and they you."

"Maybe," she emitted a small breath of laughter. "I appreciate the thought." Then she stepped forward, closing the distance between them, leaving the man in some surprise when she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a hug. "I'll really miss you, Kohaku River," she murmured.

Hearing her say his name for the first and the last time warmed his heart, and at the same time seemed to break it. He returned the hug, replying, "Me too, Chihiro. I'm glad that we managed to see each other one more time."

"Well," she piped up as they pulled away, "in a way, you did keep your promise. We did see each other again."

"Yes, we did."

"...I guess I should leave now."

"...I suppose."

They exchanged a lingering gaze until they broke away at the same time and she took her first step out onto the meadow. "I'll always remember you, Haku," she called, still facing the tunnel. She must have taken his advice of "don't look back" quite seriously. The thought bemused him and he couldn't help the grin that formed on his face. "As will I," Haku replied, folding his arms across his chest and watching her figure get closer and closer to the tunnel.

 _Krrsshhh._

The man flinched, dropped his arms by his side and pointing his index finger skyward. It glowed with a white light, but a part of it was blinking rapidly.

 _The shikigami are reacting._

He glanced back at Chihiro, who was still walking straight towards the tunnel. She was still safe.

Hastily, he summoned the wind spirits around him, sending them in all directions to comb the area for the intruder. If the shikigami had been breached, then it would not take long for it to arrive.

It did not take long for Haku to receive an answer. To the right of the meadow, he felt a dangerous presence approaching. It was near, and if he couldn't see it, it meant that it was nearing at a tremendous speed. At this rate, it would get to Chihiro before she could reach the tunnel.

With no time to lose, Haku used the wind to give himself a speed boost and bolted towards the unsuspecting woman. Grabbing her by the waist, he carried her and flew up, just before something lunged at the spot where Chihiro was standing just seconds ago.

"Haku! What- What's going on?" Chihiro gasped, clinging onto his clothes for fear of falling. "I-I thought you couldn't go any further-"

"Show yourself," he commanded, his outstretched hand facing the invisible intruder and trapping it with strong gusts of wind pressing against it on all sides.

"O-Okay, okay! Let me go!" Haku released it as the intruder unveiled himself, revealing a chameleon spirit. His skin was green, eyes bulging at the sides of his head and dressed quite crudely with a dirty brown tunic. What terrible timing. His grip on Chihiro tightened. Chameleon spirits were human hunters here. They feasted every century when the Mirror opened and either explored a limited area of the human side or lay in wait in the afternoons to attack wandering prey. This one was here early, even though the Mirror was not supposed to be open.

"What is your business here?" he demanded.

"I smelled a human, so I came. Is that against the law, Lord Kohaku?" he questioned, narrowing his eyes at the man.

"This human is with me," Haku replied coldly. "Now leave."

"Lord Kohaku, spare a thought, won't you? I haven't eaten a human in ages, not since the Mirror closed the last time," his tongue slipped out of his mouth, his eyes going wild with predatory hunger. "I wonder what a human's doing here, hmm? Don't tell me, you were going to keep her for yourself?"

The spirit was cut off by a sudden force of air pressure forcing him down on his knees. He began to sink deeper into the ground, the pressure causing him to wince and place his hands on the ground to keep his balance.

"Insolent spirit, get out of here before I decide to kill you."

"Lord Kohaku, using your position to do as you will is an abuse of your authority... If it is food," his tongue emerged from his mouth and like a whip, sliced through the force of wind above him and stood up, dusting himself off. "we must fight fairly."

"You dare challenge me?"

"Come now, Lord Kohaku. I haven't eaten for the last twelve years."

"Your kind eats only in intervals of a century."

"But the smell of that human is hard to resist... She doesn't stink like one and must have fattened up with food from this world. Even a bite would do... I just want. That. Human!"

"Chihiro, hold on to me!" Haku soared skywards, but the chameleon's tongue was fast. In a flash it hooked onto Chihiro's ankle, keeping them from moving further. There was a sizzling sound and the woman screamed in anguish, clinging onto Haku and crying out his name.

The dragon looked down but the chameleon spirit had already turned invisible. Before he could sense it, another tongue had reached up and knocked into him, sending him flying backwards. He blocked it with his arms so it couldn't hit his vitals, which resulted a long, angry red gash against his forearms. Blood trickled down the sides of his arms, staining the woman's clothes. That only seemed to frighten her even more.

He kept his grip on Chihiro, and used the wind to cushion himself, while sending a wind blade to cut off the tongue latched firmly onto Chihiro's ankle. It fell off limply, revealing an dark red mark around it. She was trying to bear the pain, biting onto her lip so hard that it was drawing blood.

Enraged, Haku bared his fangs and cast a spell to create a spherical force field around Chihiro that kept her up in the air, before assuming his dragon form. His eyes became much sharper, noting the smallest of disturbances in the spiritual atmosphere. The wind spirits would tell him all he needed if he could not see.

He noticed a tiny, but sharp movement in the corner of his right eye. It was coming. With a swift motion, Haku brought his claws down. He managed to hit the chameleon, his knife-like claws drawing blood. However, the chameleon was still able to move well enough to shoot his tongue towards the dragon's neck.

Haku drew back quickly, the tongue barely skimming his scales. The blood dripping from the chameleon's body made it far easier for Haku to identify its whereabouts. Without giving it time to rest, he gathered the wind spirits and gave a loud roar, the harsh winds generated disrupting its invisibility magic.

Its true form now revealed, Haku observed a long and deep cut along its arm. It was bleeding heavily, and appeared to be at its limit. Baring his fangs once more, the dragon charged towards it, and it barely had time to react and beg for mercy before he closed his mouth around its neck and snapped it into half.

The taste of blood filled the dragon's mouth, and he spit the now limp body of the chameleon out, utterly repulsed. It fell to the ground with a thud, the dust of the ground flying upwards with the impact.

Returning back to his human form, Haku hastily made his way up to where Chihiro was, holding her in his arms. She was barely conscious, and he noted that the mark around her ankle was slowly turning a mouldy green. Her leg had already begun to turn the same colour as well.

She had been poisoned.

"Chihiro. Hey, Chihiro."

"H-Haku..." she uttered weakly, her eyes fixated on his. "It hurts so much.. I'm scared..."

"You'll be fine. I just need to get you treated at the shelter- Chihiro!" he shouted, shaking her awake. He wouldn't let her go to sleep. "Chihiro, stay with me, come on."

"Haku... I..." Strength was slipping away from her. Her eyelids were getting heavier, and he could tell she wanted so badly to give in.

"Don't go to sleep," he instructed, continuing to shake her to help her stay awake. "You can't, not now. Just hang in there for a while until I get help."

" _Hang in there, you have to, please."_

"You'll be fine."

" _You'll be fine, I promise."_

"Chihiro, I'm warning you, don't close your eyes. Stay with me until I get help."

" _I'm going to get help, so stay with me. Please!"_

"H-Haku... I..." Her eyelids fluttered close, and she went limp in his arms.

" _Kohaku... I'm sorry..."_

Cradling her in his arms like a delicate doll, Haku continued to yell and shake the woman, trying to get her to stay awake. He never seemed to notice that tears were streaming down his cheeks, or that after a while, he was no longer calling Chihiro's name.

All that filled his vision now was a memory of blue, the colour of his lost sky, awash with red.

* * *

A/N: Finally starting to get back into the rhythm of writing this story :) Wow, I'm getting so rusty. That fight scene was so hard to write lol. But I enjoyed writing every bit of this chapter, hope you enjoyed it too :)


	7. Silent Pleas

**The Wait 2.0: Silent Pleas**

" _...She'll be fine, go get some rest. I can stand watch here if you want."_

" _No, I'll stay here until-"_

" _You've been here for the past ten hours and you haven't eaten anything. At least get something to eat, man."_

" _I'm fine, Shou. I know my limits."_

" _If you insist on staying here I'll just head over to your room and burn it down. Or take all your gold. Or both."_

" _Shou, you... ..."_

Chihiro stirred. She could hear two men arguing with each other in relatively hushed tones, but she was too tired to open her eyes and find out what was going on. She heard a growl next to her, and then the other man counting down from five with a taunting voice.

A chair to her left squealed in protest as its legs were dragged against the floor, and then she heard someone stomp out of the room, while the man remaining sighed. "That dragon really goes overboard sometimes..." she heard him mutter to himself.

He seemed to be uttering something else beneath his breath as he presumably sat on a chair next to her. She attempted to open her eyelids to see what was happening, but it felt as if her eyes had been cemented shut; she couldn't open them no matter how hard she tried. His voice slowly faded into a quiet buzz in the background, and succumbing to exhaustion, she drifted off to sleep again.

* * *

Chihiro felt herself floating in darkness and silence. She knew she was still asleep, so it seemed she was in a dream. There was nothing in sight, a faint, distant voice the only thing she could make out. She could not see who it was, but it sounded like a young woman whose sniffling indicated that she was crying. Curious, Chihiro followed where the voice was coming from, straining to hear what the woman was saying.

" _Help..."_

Chihiro flinched when she heard the voice suddenly distinct and loud in her ear. It was a haunting whisper that chilled her to the bone, a desperate cry for help from what she perceived to be a ghost. She could not recognize the it, even though it seemed like the woman knew her.

" _Help..."_

"W-Who are you?" she daringly asked aloud, wondering if she would even get a reply from this woman, whoever or whatever she was.

" _Help..."_

"Do... you need help?" she tried again, a little more hesitantly this time. The sobbing grew louder in response, as the invisible woman seemed to get closer to her. Terror seized her. She tried to run away, but the voice permeated the entire space she was in - there was no escape.

" _Help..."_

Chihiro was about to scream for help, but could only manage a muffled gasp when she felt an icy cold hand cover her mouth, silencing any cries in her throat.

" _Help... Help..!"_

The woman awoke with a start, a strangled scream catching in her throat as she shot up into a sitting position, clawing at the sheets of the bed that she was lying in. She took a moment to realize that she was no longer in darkness, and that she was in a brightly-lit room. There were curtains around her bed, and for a moment she thought that she was in the hospital. That idea was quickly shot down, for she was dressed in her own clothes instead of a hospital gown.

"Now that's one way you could wake up... Hey, are you okay?"

Chihiro jumped, snapping her head to her left. A man with bright, golden hair was staring at her with a worried expression on his face. He looked to be in his early twenties, slightly younger than Haku.

 _Haku._

Chihiro scanned the room anxiously and was dismayed to see that the dragon spirit was not in the room with her. The man next to her was watching her intently, appearing to be at a loss for what to do. She turned to him, asking, "Where is Haku?"

"Haku?" he echoed, dumbfounded. He was staring at her like she had grown two heads. "Did you just call him... _Haku_?"

"Do you know who he is? Where is he? I need to know that he's safe, please, tell me where he is," she pleaded, grabbing his wrist and squeezing it tightly. The last thing she remembered was fainting while Haku was still in the middle of a fight with that... that chameleon spirit. What had happened to him? Why was she here? What happened?

"Okay, first you need to calm down."

"Is he alright?"

"Yes, he's fine, now stop moving-"

Chihiro winced at a sharp sting in her leg when she moved it, and she grimaced when she realized that it wasn't just her thigh that hurt, but her ankle now. Flipping the covers off of her, she saw her left leg bandaged like a mummy. Gently, she patted the injury on her thigh, and was not surprised to find that it had yet to heal, even though the pain had lessened by now. The more alarming part was her ankle, which was wrapped thickly with bandages that went up to her knee.

"You were poisoned," the man next to her explained. "Kazune managed to fix you up with this and gave you an antidote, so you'll be fine, but you shouldn't move around too much or it'll get worse."

"How long was I asleep for?"

"It hasn't been that long. It's almost eight in the evening now."

Chihiro gasped. Not that long? She had to hurry back! Her mother would be so worried! Just the thought of her mother lecturing her about being irresponsible again made her shudder. "I need to get back home. It's late."

"Chihiro, the Mirror closes at night. You can only cross over in the morning."

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" she asked as he put the blanket over her again and helped her to sit up on the bed.

"Took you long enough to ask," he flashed her a toothy grin, standing up and nodding in greeting. "The name's Koushou, but you can call me Shou. If you're wondering, you're currently in the Kaigo Shelter, which is a home for lost spirits. Kohaku is one of the founders, and I work here. And I know your name because of Kohaku," he smiled, pausing a bit before adding, "Oh, and just in case you're wondering about my relationship with him, I'm his... man."

"Man..?" she repeated, not fully understanding him. "You mean, like his best friend?"

"We're... a little more than that. Don't tell anyone though, we haven't exactly made it public yet," he said with a small wink.

"O-Okay..." Chihiro was confused. She never knew Haku rolled that way. Oh well. It _had_ been a long time. And maybe that would also explain why he was never interested in the yunas at the bathhouse, in spite of the way they would throw themselves at him, according to Lin. There had even been some rumours going around the sour yunas about him being impotent.

"Well, I'm Ogino Chihiro," she said, holding out a hand to shake his. He stared at it, slightly confused. "You... have a nice hand?" he ventured, causing Chihiro to chuckle. So there were some differences in social etiquette between spirits and humans too.

She cleared her throat, taking his hand and shaking it lightly. "This is how we greet each other in the human world. Nice to meet you." Koushou nodded in understanding and smiled. "The pleasure is mine, Chihiro."

"So... this is the Kaigo Shelter?" Chihiro asked. She couldn't really see much other than the gray wall in front of her because she could barely strain to see past the curtains blocking her view. She was likely in the shelter's sick bay. "I heard about it from Haku but I didn't think I would be able to come here and see it for myself, since I was supposed to have left this morning for good."

"Well then, consider yourself lucky. I think I'll be able to get Kazune's permission to wheel you out of here to look around. We probably won't be able to stay out for long, though. Where do you want to go first?"

"I want to see Haku," was her immediate response.

"Well," he said, chuckling, "why am I not surprised?"

* * *

Chihiro was mildly uncomfortable with all the attention she was receiving from the residents in the shelter. Shou had reassured her that it wasn't because she smelled bad, but rather that it was simply obvious to other spirits that she wasn't one of them.

Most of them, however, were remarkably kinder to her than the workers in the bathhouse. They were primarily shocked to see her in the shelter, but other than that, some of them offered her a courteous smile or a meek nod in acknowledgement, although thinking about it now, they were probably greeting Shou and not her. Shou introduced her to several spirits in the shelter. Most of them were children, who often started off by gaping at her like she were a strange specimen, before grinning and greeting her.

"They are really sweet children," she commented with a warm smile after waving goodbye to them.

"Well, if you want to be technical about it, I'm pretty sure most of them are older than you."

Chihiro turned around just to shoot him a flat glare behind her shoulder. It was strange how quickly she had warmed up to him. Shou was a very energetic, radiant young man. He had a rather impressive sense of humour, which had helped to break the ice between them in the beginning quite easily. It was quite fitting for him to be a phoenix spirit, as he had informed her just minutes ago. His primary element of magic was fire, while Haku's was wind and water.

"You could also say that I'm pretty hot," he had joked, to which she had given an exaggerated sigh as she wondered how old he was mentally.

The shelter appeared to be quite big, because they took a good twenty minutes or so to get to Haku's room. That and maybe it was because Shou was considerate enough to wheel her slowly so as to avoid running over bumps that would cause her leg to move sharply.

Shou rapped lightly on Haku's door. "Kohaku, Chihiro woke up and I brought her. Open up."

When there was no reply after a while, the blond shrugged and opened the door, wheeling her in as well. "He's not here," Shou muttered as he scanned the room with a frown. "He said he had to come up and finish some paperwork... Where did he go?"

"Maybe he went to the restroom," Chihiro suggested. Shou stepped past her towards the desk on the opposite end of the room, and she followed behind him. Neat stacks of paper inhabited the table, and it would otherwise look clean and organized if it weren't for the startlingly huge dent on it which Shou was currently fingering with a frown.

"I doubt it. I think he went out for a fly."

"A fly?"

"He does that when he gets stressed," Shou replied, pursing his lips into a thin line. "This doesn't look good. I just hope he gets back soon. He's probably over-thinking your condition."

"Over-thinking?" Chihiro furrowed her brows. "He was worried?"

"Of course he was," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. "He refused to leave your side to even eat. It took a lot for me to convince him to take a quick break before coming back to see you. Man, how cold do you think he is?"

"I don't mean it that way. I mean, I just think it's strange for him to worry about me so much to... to punch his table in like this. Poor table. Besides, my injury doesn't warrant _that_ much concern," she added.

"I think you remind him about someone."

She raised an eyebrow. "Who would that be?"

"Just an old friend of ours."

"Oh... By any chance, did she get hurt like me? What happened?"

"I don't think I'm in a position to say," Shou said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry."

"Oh, no, it's fine," Chihiro smiled. "I understand."

"Since it'll take Kohaku a while to get back, I think I'll just bring you back to the sick bay so you can rest."

"So soon?" Chihiro protested.

Shou paused his movement. "Aren't you tired? You should get all the rest you can to recover."

"I just woke up so I'm not tired. I want to look around a little more." She would have to leave soon anyway, so she may as well grab the opportunity to explore this new home that Haku had built for himself. At least she would be able to leave this world knowing that Haku was living a good life.

That seemed acceptable enough to the man, for he wheeled her out of the room and began chanting out different places that he could bring her to visit. "You know," he concluded, "I think I'll drop by the cafeteria for a quick bite first. I haven't eaten my dinner yet."

"Sure, let's head there first then."

* * *

Aside from a couple of spirits enjoying a conversation over a drink, the cafeteria was very quiet and empty. According to Shou, at this time most of the other spirits would be reading in the library or preparing to go to bed.

Chihiro was pleasantly surprised to see that spirits ate food that were very similar to human food - aside from the couple of rather unsettling exceptions here and there. Across from her, Shou was indulging in a large bowl of rice with _karaage_ and tofu _,_ although the pieces of meat were much larger than what she remembered they were when served in the human world.

"You sure you don't want to eat anything?" Shou asked, gesturing to the measly cup of warm water that she had in her hands. "You haven't eaten either, have you?"

She shook her head, replying, "I don't have much of an appetite at the moment."

"Still, you should eat something. Even an apple would do. Or would you like some of my food? Tofu?" He carelessly stabbed a large piece of tofu with his fork and held it out to her.

"I'm fine, really," she laughed, leaning back in her seat to avoid the incoming fork of tofu to her face.

"You sure?" he asked, unconvinced. "At least eat an apple or something."

Her eyes widened. "You have apples here too?"

"Gods, Chihiro," he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air and nearly hurling his tofu behind his shoulder in the process, "you need to stop reacting that way every time I mention food that is available here."

"But I didn't know that spirits and humans ate so many similar things! The first time I came here, Lin was watering over a piece of roasted newt," she explained, wrinkling her nose in disgust, while Shou laughed. "This is new to me. Stop laughing."

"Okay, okay, I'll stop," he said, shutting himself up with a spoonful of rice to his mouth. "But you should grab an apple at least," he added while chewing his food. He stood up. "Stay here. I'll go get you one."

"Shou, there's really no need-"

"It's fine," he dismissed, "I'll be right back."

Chihiro smiled to herself as she watched him rush off towards the kitchen behind the empty food counter. He was a very nice man. Absently she wondered if how many women would have wooed him if it weren't for his relationship with Haku. Surely, if their relationship were to be made known, many hearts would end up shattered.

Feeling a little bored, she habitually reached into her pocket and pulled out her purple hair tie, twirling it around her index finger. She twirled it a little too vigorously, however, causing the hair tie to fly and land on the floor a fair distance away. Chihiro wheeled herself over, close enough so she could pick it up with her fingers. Bending down, she attempted to scoop up the hair tie with her fingers, but she could barely reach it.

 _Just a little more..._

Chihiro leaned forward a little more, and was momentarily delighted when her fingers managed to touch the hair tie, except in her carelessness, she ended up losing her balance and crashing to the floor.

She groaned, grimacing as pain shot up her leg. Black spots appeared in her vision as she sat up, trying hard not to make too loud a sound that would disturb the other spirits in the cafeteria. She really was too clumsy for her own good.

"Chihiro?" She heard someone call her name, and then footsteps as the person rushed over to her, easily helping her up.

"Thanks Shou, I'm fine-" She paused when she registered that the man helping her was actually Haku. He was panting, hot breath fanning onto her face as he held her by her shoulders. He had bandages around his arms, and his dark green hair was a mess, likely from his fly, as Shou had put it.

"Haku, you're here," she managed, confused as to why he was still holding her up in standing position instead of helping her back onto her wheelchair. "Shou was just bringing me around-"

"Why did you leave the sick bay?" he demanded angrily, his grip on her shoulders tightening. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? How could you leave like that?"

She frowned, hoping that would get him to loosen his grip, but to no avail. "I was feeling fine after waking up and Shou was with me the whole time. He just left to get an apple for me."

"I instructed Shou beforehand not to let you go anywhere in your condition," he muttered through gritted teeth. "When I see him I'm going to-"

"Don't get mad at him," Chihiro protested, not wanting to be the subject of a lovers' quarrel later. "It's not his fault. I insisted on going to see you after waking up, and since you weren't there he was going to bring me back to the sick bay but I asked him to bring me around. So don't be mad at him."

That seemed to pacify him a little. "You should take care of yourself more," he said, before pulling her in for a tight hug. "I was so worried that you would... that you would have... that I would have lost you then."

Chihiro hesitantly returned the hug, wondering what would happen if Shou were to come out and see them in this tight embrace. Haku's shoulders began to shake and his hold on her grew stronger. "Haku, you're holding me a little too tightly," she winced.

He didn't seem to hear her. "You can't... You can't leave me again. I thought I'd lost you... just like before. I can't lose you again."

"Haku," she repeated, trying to push him away. "Haku, you're hurting me. Let go."

"I'm not letting go of you. You can't leave..."

"Sorry it took so long, I couldn't find- Hey, stop it, you're hurting her!" Chihiro felt someone roughly shove the dragon spirit away from her and catch her with an arm around her waist before she could lose her balance and fall a second time. She looked up, relieved to see that it was Shou.

"She's not her, Kohaku. Get a grip," he continued sternly, before handing her an apple and helping her back onto the wheelchair. "You okay?" he asked.

"Y-Yeah... I'm fine," she muttered in reply, rubbing her sore shoulders, vaguely wondering who Shou was referring to. Shou marched up to the dragon, and Chihiro was alarmed when she saw him raising a fist. Haku stopped Shou's arm easily, however, saying something and shoving his arm away. The two exchanged a short conversation that she couldn't hear from where she was, and when they pulled away, she noticed that the pained look on Haku's face had vanished, replaced with a blank, poker face that reminded her of the time when he was "Master Haku" in the bathhouse.

"I apologize for my actions earlier," he said, walking up to her together with Shou. "I was... I got carried away."

"It's alright. You were just worried, I understand." She wheeled herself over to where he was, the skin on her forehead crinkling in worry as she lightly touched his bandaged arm. "Does it hurt? Are you okay?"

"It is but a minor injury. There is no need to worry," he said, waving it off and brushing her hand aside.

"We should get Kazune to check your head. You might have gotten a screw loose in there after that fly," Shou spoke up, earning himself a sharp glare from the dragon spirit.

Chihiro watched uneasily as the two men exchanged cold stares. "Shou, I believe I told you to make sure she stays in the sick bay," Haku spoke sternly.

"I know, but she was fine by then. And I got Kazune's approval before moving her out."

"You should have known better than to do that," he argued, pointing an accusatory finger at the phoenix spirit. "She fell and got hurt earlier while you were gone."

"Well, at least I didn't add to the pain by hugging her like a snake spirit," Shou countered with a roll of his eyes.

"Guys, please don't fight," Chihiro said, getting their attention in an instant. "Haku, I already said it's not Shou's fault. Why don't you two just- just kiss and make up? Hmm?"

Both of them stared at her like she had grown two heads. "Kiss?" Haku echoed, frowning, and if she didn't know better, she would have thought he looked disgusted by the idea of kissing his own boyfriend. "Is that another saying that humans use?"

Chihiro raised an eyebrow. "Not really... Do spirit couples not kiss and make up after a quarrel?"

"Spirit couples?" Haku remained confused, while Shou, on the other hand, looked like something clicked in his head, prompting him to make a strangled sound of barely contained laughter. Haku seemed to finally register what she meant when a scowl appeared on his face and he grabbed Shou by the collar, asking him in a menacing manner, "Exactly _what_ did you say to her?"

Now it was Chihiro's turn to be confused. She stared at the blond expectantly, wondering what was going on. The phoenix spirit threw his head back in a loud laugh, but was quickly cut off with a coughing fit when Haku tightened his grip around his shirt. "Okay, okay! I'm sorry!" he pleaded, grabbing Haku's wrists and trying to stop his imminent death.

" _What_ did you say to her?" Haku growled, not letting up in the least.

"Haku, let go of him," Chihiro spoke, worried that he would end up killing the poor man.

"I just told her that we- we had a special relationship- Oh gods, you're killing me- Save me, Chihiro!"

"L-Let go of him, Haku! He's really going to die!"

A great deal of shouting, struggling and begging later, the three of them were finally quietly settled around a table. Chihiro had never seen Haku look this annoyed before, and frankly, if she didn't know better, she would have been giggling along with Shou. The blond was finishing up with his meal, still smiling gleefully to himself for the self-declared ingenious prank he had just played on the both of them.

Chihiro was beginning to understand the dynamics of their relationship.

"Haku, I'm really sorry for this..." she said for the third time.

"It isn't your fault, Chihiro," the dragon spirit muttered with a sigh.

"Yeah, you're not to blame. We just look too good for each other- Ouch!" Shou glared at the dragon as he rubbed the sore spot on his arm where Haku had just punched him. "Hey, that's a compliment to you, Kohaku. There's a long line of women out there who wish to marry me."

"You should do just that and move out of the shelter for good," Haku replied coldly.

"You'd be lonely without me, admit it, dragon," Shou countered smugly.

"Whatever, Shou." He turned to the woman. "Are you feeling tired? I'll bring you back to the sick bay."

"Not really..."

"What's wrong?" he asked, noting the worry on her face.

"I'm just wondering when I can go home. I've been away for too long, and my mother will be worried about me."

"If it's about that, I already took the liberty to send a letter to your home saying that you have some unexpected matters to attend to and hence your return will be delayed slightly."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "You did? When? How?"

"It was right before I brought you here to be treated," he explained. "I just needed a _shikigami_ to do that. It recognized your scent and traced it to your home. I hope that helps a little."

"It does, thank you so much," she breathed, relief washing over her. Aside from the fact that the letter would come across as weird to her mother, this was a huge load off her chest. Hopefully Haku's letter would be able to appease her, even if a little, until she made it back home. "I haven't been able to contact home because there's no signal here."

"Signal?"

"It's uh, just a human thing. Never mind that."

He nodded. "In any case, Kazune said you will likely be well enough to go home in two days, since the poison has been sucked out of your blood. You should rest early. I'll bring you back to the sick bay."

"I'll come too," Shou piped up, but Haku gestured to the plates on the table. "I'll take Chihiro there. _You_ stay here and clean up." His voice left no room for arguing and before Chihiro could say anything he was already wheeling her out of the cafeteria and back to the sick bay, away from Shou's protests.

Once outside, Chihiro let out a chuckle. "What's so amusing?" Haku questioned from behind her.

"Nothing, it's just that Shou is a really great person. I'm glad you have someone like him with you."

"I already said, it's not like that between us."

"I know, I know," Chihiro laughed, amused by how defensive Haku was getting over this topic. "I meant that it's good that you have a friend like him by your side."

"He's more like an annoying pet than a friend," Haku muttered gruffly, provoking more laughter from the woman. "I would highly recommend spending less time with him. I fear he will plant more misleading ideas in your head."

"Well, it's not like I have much time to spend here anyway," Chihiro responded with a small sigh. "But in a way, I'm glad that I got attacked; I wouldn't have been able to come here otherwise."

Haku remained silent for a while as he wheeled her through the dimly lit corridors. The sound of crickets chirping and a light evening breeze accompanied them. Chihiro's lips curved into a tiny smile at the sight of the pearlescent, half-moon illuminating the blanket of night above. The moon reminded her of the sleek, elegant dragon behind her, and suddenly she was itching to draw again, except that she was getting sleepier by the minute.

She didn't realize that she had dozed off in the chair until she woke up and found herself being lifted back onto the bed in the sick bay. Haku pulled the covers snug over her and sleepily she muttered a word of thanks before closing her eyes once more. Just before she drifted back to sleep, however, she thought she felt something like a pair of lips meeting her forehead.

* * *

" _...she's not her."_

" _I know. Stop bringing that up, Shou. I've gotten over that a long time ago."_

" _Oh please. I've known you long enough to recognize when you're lying. Sora isn't coming back. She's gone."_

Chihiro stirred, but her eyes remained closed. Faintly, she could hear two men arguing softly. Was this a dream? What did they mean 'the sky isn't coming back'?

" _I know." There was a low, pained growl. "I was there when she... in my arms... Look, I know what I'm doing."_

" _You sure? You were losing it back there in the cafeteria."_

" _Do you not trust me?"_

" _It's not that. I know you'll control yourself from doing anything stupid, but I worry that you'll start treating her like a substitute for-"_

" _That's enough. No one can replace Sora. And she is but a human; I know where the boundaries lie."_

" _Fine, if you say so."_

" _...Stop looking at me like that. I don't need your pity."_

" _You wouldn't get my pity even if you begged me for it. But you could at least be more honest with yourself. Stop pretending to be fine when you're not."_

" _I am fine, and you are simply being paranoid. Leave me alone, Shou."_

" _Man, you're really stubborn... ..."_

Chihiro began to drift back to sleep, the men's voices gradually fading into nothingness. Her mind lingered on the dragon, half worried and half wondering if she had simply been dreaming or had overheard a conversation she wasn't supposed to listen to.

She began to slip into the darkness once more, just as another voice sounded in her head, the haunting voice that she had heard before.

" _Help... him..."_

* * *

A/N: 'Sora' in Japanese means 'sky', hence Chihiro's mishearing of 'Sora'.

I couldn't stop writing simply because Shou was finally introduced in this chapter and Shou is definitely my all-time-favourite character in this story :D I hope you liked this chapter and yup hopefully I'll see you soon with the next one! (:


	8. The Month of New Life

**The Wait 2.0: The Month of New Life**

The next morning, Shou continued to show Chihiro around the shelter. Haku had to tend to other administrative matters in the shelter so he did not accompany them.

After breakfast, the two stopped by the field at the courtyard of the shelter. It was a large space covered with lush, green grass. Drops of morning dew on the soft blades shone under the sun like little diamonds scattered all about. The field was surrounded by bushes and shrubs dotted with flowers of various colors. Many spirits were out for a casual walk in the courtyard, and as they passed Shou and Chihiro they gave a smile in acknowledgement, though others who were more reserved avoided eye contact. Most of the spirits around at this time were elderly spirits who were seated on wooden benches watching the children playing in the field.

Peals of laughter filled the fresh, sweet morning air. A smile touched Chihiro's lips at the sight of the playing children. Their hair were of varying shades, and it looked like a lovely mess of rainbow colors on the field from where she was. Some of them also had peculiar skin colors, as well as notable features such as pristine white wings sprouting from a certain child's back or black stripes marking another's wrists and arms. There were others who looked like human children as well.

Momentarily Chihiro wondered if she would be able to draw portraits of some of them. Hopefully they wouldn't be too scared of her though — she had no idea what sort of rumors about humans were commonly spread amongst the spirits here.

"What game are they playing?" she wondered, turning to Shou who was watching them with a curiously wide grin on his face.

"Just a game of tag," he replied vaguely, his eyes fixated on them with a bright smile on his face, appearing more than eager to join them. Chihiro smiled to herself, amused by how childlike the man was despite his age. Apparently, he was just a hundred years younger than Haku, which made him an old man too.

"Wanna play with them?" Shou asked.

Chihiro stared at him, arching a brow. "You... do realize that I can't walk on my own, let alone run, right?"

"Don't sweat the minor details, Chihiro. That's no fun," he teased, patting her shoulder.

"Define 'minor'—"

"Let's go!" Despite her protests, he began wheeling her towards the field at an alarming pace, shouting, "Hey! You guys!"

The children all paused from their game, snapping their heads in their direction. Their lips were parted as they panted, some bending over and resting their hands on their knees as they tried to catch their breaths while others fanned themselves with their little hands, beads of sweat rolling down their flushed faces.

While some of them initially looked excited to see Shou, their glee quickly faded when they noticed the woman together with Shou. Chihiro reached a hand up to pat Shou's hands that gripped the handles to her chair — this was clearly a bad idea. The children seemed rather wary of her, some backing away and until all of them eventually huddled in a big group. The thought that they resembled penguins struck Chihiro with some amusement.

"Oh come on, you guys. What, not happy to see me?" Shou asked.

The children peered up from what seemed to be a strategic military meeting of sorts to glance at the two of them, before returning to their talk for a little more. Shou sighed, and Chihiro whispered, "This is a bad idea. We should just go and not bother them."

"Nah, they'll be fine. Look." He pointed, and Chihiro turned back around to see a young boy striding towards them with a brave face put on; albeit one that seemed a little forced. He locked gazes with her, and she marveled at the deep, blue hue of his eyes. His hair was a lighter shade of blue more similar to that of the sky.

"Kai, you look like you're preparing to fight somebody. Stop that. It's rude," Shou chided with a click of his tongue.

"You're a human," he stated, ignoring Shou's words.

Chihiro blinked, not exactly sure how this conversation would end up. "Yes... I am," she replied.

"But you don't stink."

"Kai." Shou's voice was sharp, and the boy visibly lost some of the resolve he had initially, though his chest remained puffed out. It was cute.

"Are you gonna hurt us? They say humans spread diseases and stuff too."

"Well, I don't carry any contagious disease, that's for sure," Chihiro answered with a kind smile. "And I would never hurt you guys. Besides, I can't exactly move right now," she said with a grimace, pointing to her legs.

That seemed to satisfy Kai, and he looked back at his group of friends who were watching them intently, gesturing for them to come forward.

Chihiro heard Shou release a sigh behind her. "Guys, she's perfectly fine. She's really nice, and she's the same age as most of you, so you'll get along fine."

It was her turn to sigh now. Did he really have to bring that up again? She was certain that he would keep harping on the fact just because she called him an old man once. He was impossibly petty. But that fact appeared to pique the interest of the spirit children, whose eyes were wide as they stared at her, scrutinizing her features.

"But she looks so old!"

"She looks like you, Shou!"

"Hey! I'm not old!" He shook a fist at them in mock anger, making them giggle cutely. A couple more questions later, the children were comfortable enough to get up close to her, although there were a few others who remained wary of her, understandably.

"Does that hurt?" A girl, Mariko, questioned as she pointed at Chihiro's bandages.

"Not that much anymore, thanks for asking," Chihiro smiled. Mariko returned the smile with a toothy grin, and Chihiro noticed her white, tiny fangs.

"Shou-nii! Do you wanna play with us?" Chihiro turned her attention to the man who had somehow turned into a mini-playground for the children. There were five of them in total on him. Two of them were wrapped around each of his legs, one was clinging onto his back, another clinging to his front and one more settled on his shoulders, wrapping his arms around Shou's face. They laughed as they watched him attempt to move around like a clumsy bear, his movement proving near impossible with all the weight on him.

"Get off me and maybe I will," he grunted, shaking his body lightly. The tremors only made the children cling tighter to him as they screamed and laughed.

"Do you want to play too, Chihiro-nee?" Kai asked fondly. He had taken to her quite quickly, as she did him. Any tension between them initially had dissolved completely, and Kai was proving to be a very outgoing and friendly boy.

Chihiro shook her head with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but I don't think I can play with you guys like this," she said, gesturing to the chair and her legs. "I'll just watch."

"But that's boring. C'mon! We can all play a simple game." Kai took her hand in his sweaty one and tugged her forward towards the center of the field.

A while later, everyone was gathered in the field and split into two opposing teams. Chihiro was in the same team as Kai, and Shou was in the opposing team. Each team stood in a row, facing the opposing team, while Kai stood in the middle to announce the rules of the game.

"Chihiro-nee, you know what _Hanaichimonme_ is, right?"

The woman nodded. "It's been a long time since I played it," she commented, though hardly surprised that traditional games would still be popular amongst spirit children. These games were hardly played by human children now, since computer and video games were so much more popular and engaging.

"It's probably different from the human version of it," Shou warned, flashing her a smirk.

She eyed him warily. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see."

The game began quite normally, going according to what she remembered playing as a child. Two members would be randomly chosen from each team to meet in the middle and play rock-paper-scissors. The winner would return to his or her team and then both teams would sing the _hanaichimonme_ song, before the winning team decided who it was they wanted from the opposing team.

It was simple enough for a children's game. However, what Chihiro was not expecting was the startling show of power from the children over it.

It happened when it was Kai's turn to play from her team, and Mariko emerged from the opposing team. There were murmurs of approval and comments of how it was a good match-up. That struck Chihiro as a little odd. What kind of match-up would actually be needed in a game of rock-paper-scissors? She kept mum though, deciding to observe and see where this would go.

The two children met in the middle, raising their hands and chanting, "Jan, ken, pon!" Both flashed rock, the first time there was a tie in the game.

That was when it started.

Cheers erupted from both teams as the ground began to tremble and a circle of bright, yellow light surrounded the two. Chihiro's jaw fell slack as she dumbly watched the two shoot up into the air while standing on the large spherical piece fo soil that had been magically removed from the ground. And then, the children began to clap in sync in a moderate pace, chanting the syllables of "ha-na-i-chi-mo-n-me" with each clap.

As they chanted, Kai and Mariko began their showdown. Mariko brought a hand up, causing tremors to tear through the entire sphere. She maintained perfect balance atop the sphere, but Kai nearly fell off, though he managed to keep his balance by clawing his hands into the dirt. He was hanging perilously off the edge of the sphere, making Chihiro gasp. The others didn't seem concerned by it, however. They merely cheered louder as Kai appeared to be preparing a counter-attack.

The boy pulled his arm back and landed a punch in the center of the soil, burying his arm in it. Cracks and fissures formed in the sphere, growing till it began to break apart. Flakes and chunks of dirt fell neatly back into the gaping hole in the field that it had emerged from, but the two were not done yet. Stepping on a chunk of the soil, Kai launched himself at Mariko, who attempted to kick him away, but it appeared to be of no effect.

It was now the third time chanting 'hanaichimonme', and the chanting grew louder with every syllable, signaling the nearing of the end of the battle. Kai and Mariko were falling, both of them fighting to switch positions so they wouldn't be the one on the bottom. Mariko seemed to be able to use force from her palms alone to push Kai off of her, except that it seemed to not be effective as he somehow managed to stay on top by tweaking his positions every now and then.

Just before the last syllable was called, the two landed in the dirt, causing dust to fly upwards, obscuring everyone's vision of the outcome. Chihiro shouted in alarm, worried that they were injured, but the boy, Hiro, next to her assured her that the game was perfectly safe and that they would be able to protect themselves with magic.

When the dust cleared, everyone found Mariko sitting victoriously on top of a rather sour Kai. Mariko's team cheered in victory as she returned to them with a smug look. Kai dusted himself off as he got up and marched back to his team, where everyone still congratulated him on a job well done. "Man, I was so sure I would win her this time," he pouted, folding his arms across his chest and staring defiantly at the ground. The small lift of the corner of his lips betrayed his sour demeanour, however, and his team gave him pats of encouragement, saying that he would be able to do it someday.

"What was that?" Chihiro asked, still mystified by the whole thing.

"It's a friendly duel that happens when there is a tie in rock-paper-scissors to determine which team wins," Kai explained. "Both of us chose 'rock', so the winner would be the one who is the last to fall off the rock."

"But Mariko landed on top of him, so that means he lost," Hiro teased, earning himself a glare from Kai.

"Okay, we need to sing the song and then they're gonna take someone from our team."

The round ended with the second verse of the _hanaichimonme_ song and the opposing team choosing Riko, a little girl with green pigtails, over to their team.

The game continued a couple more rounds, and then it was Chihiro's turn to get picked. Dread filled her when she noticed Shou walking towards the middle as well. If this ended in a tie, what was she supposed to do? She would lose, no questions asked.

"Ready to lose?" he smirked, drawing his fist back already.

"How can you be so sure you'll win?" she challenged, not about to back down so easily. She drew her fist back as well.

"Because I'm the king of rock-paper-scissors!"

"But Shou-nii, you always lose!" Kai yelled.

"Kai, you jerk! Stop saying things that make me look like a liar!"

Chihiro laughed, adding, "I can't believe you're letting a kid walk all over you like that."

"Only because I let him."

"Yeah, right."

"Okay, if this ends in a tie, how are we going to fight this out?" he asked. "Because you obviously can't use magic to win me."

"We could just re-do the round," Chihiro suggested, which was quickly shot down by Shou as too "lame".

"We'll each think of a dare. Loser is the one who can't carry it out," he suggested with a smirk, and Chihiro contemplated this for a moment. She was certain that he would come up with a ridiculous dare, but so could she.

Meeting his gaze evenly, she tipped her chin upwards in defiance. As if she would back down so easily. "Deal."

"I like your boldness," he grinned.

They raised their fists, but just before they could begin, a loud call of his name stopped the game.

"Koushou! Hey!"

Chihiro and the man in question both turned to see a woman with bright pink hair calling for him, carrying three stacked, heavy-looking crates in her arms. "I need you to go with me to the storeroom to check out something, are you free now?"

"Yeah!" he called, before hastily excusing himself from the group, much to the dismay of the children. "You guys have fun with Chihiro. And Chihiro? I'll meet you back at the cafeteria around lunchtime, okay? Or you could go back to the sick bay and get some rest — do you know the way back?"

"Yes, I do. I'll be fine on my own. You should go."

"Okay, I'll be back soon!" With a quick wave, he sprinted across the field towards the pink-haired lady, offering to take the crates for her.

A while later, Chihiro decided to take a break by the side and let the children play something more engaging, since it was clear they were getting bored of hanaichimonme already. They were back to playing tag as she watched quietly by the side.

Her eyes roamed around the field wanting to take in the scenery here and commit it to memory. Perhaps it would be a good idea to go back to the sick bay and get her bag.

She was about to wheel herself out when she noticed Haku passing by, and she called out to him. "Haku!"

He heard her, pausing in his tracks and looking in her direction. All he offered in response was a small smile, before turning back and heading back to wherever it was that he was going. She couldn't help but notice that as he passed by the other spirits walking about, they would avert his gaze and steer clear of his path with peculiar wariness.

"Chihiro-nee?" Chihiro looked behind her shoulder to see the children all running towards her like a herd of cattle, evidently forgetting all about their game. They looked like they had just seen a ghost.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly. Did they need a break from their playing? It was getting pretty hot now that it was close to midday.

"Chihiro-nee," Kai tugged on her sleeve and stared at her with wide eyes. "D-Did you just call him H-Haku?"

His uncharacteristic stuttering prompted her to raise an eyebrow questioningly. "Yes... Is there something wrong?"

A series of gasps and exclamations of surprise erupted amongst the children, and Kai let go of her sleeve in astonishment. She furrowed her eyebrows, concerned by the fuss that they were making. "What's wrong?"

"It's just... No one would dare to call Kohaku-nii by his old name, Haku," Mariko said.

"He hates that name," Kai added. "Once I called him Haku-nii and he got pretty mad."

"Mad?" Chihiro frowned at the thought of an angry Haku. She got the feeling she wouldn't ever want to see that side of him. "Did he scold you?" she asked.

"Nah, he didn't. But we could tell that he was upset because of it, so we stopped calling him that. It's like an unspoken rule here in the shelter. Everyone knows about it," Kai replied.

"Oh... I didn't know. Haku- I mean, _Ko_ haku didn't seem to mind at all when I called him by his old name. It's out of habit more than anything, really."

The children exchanged puzzled glances, but in the end they concluded that it would be safer for her to address him as Kohaku from now on.

"It's nearing the Month of New Life, after all."

Catching the look of confusion on her face, Hiro questioned, "You don't know about it?"

"Is there something special about this Month of New Life?"

"It's..." Mariko appeared rather uncertain as she trailed off. The other children exchanged similar expressions, but then Kai nudged her, indicating for her to speak. "There used to be a lady helping out here in the shelter," Mariko said. "Sora-nee was really nice too, and she was really close to Kohaku-nii."

"There was even talk about them becoming mates," Hiro added, and there were murmurs of approval. Chihiro was surprised to learn about this. So Haku had a lover in the past? He never mentioned it, nor did Shou, Kamaji or Lin.

Her name somehow struck a chord with her. Had she heard it somewhere before?

"Did something happen to her? Where is she now?"

"No one knows what happened," Mariko said sadly. "All we know is that one day she left for a job and she never returned from it."

"Kohaku-nii has never been the same since," Hiro added. "I still remember how he was when he got back to the shelter that night... I've never seen anyone look so scary before."

Kai nodded. "I was there with Hiro too. That's why we don't really bother him when it's near her death anniversary. His mood is always particularly foul at this time of the year."

"That's terrible..." Chihiro frowned as a heaviness tugged at her heart. She knew all too well how it felt to lose a loved one... "Did it happen recently?"

"It's been three years," Mariko answered. "But all of us still miss her just as much."

"We don't talk about it much though. Kohaku-nii's the one who's hurting the most."

"I see..." Chihiro wondered if there was anything that she could do to help. The only time she had been of any help was in giving him back his name.

Even then, names could be returned. Loved ones would not. Nor would broken hearts ever heal entirely.

* * *

Chihiro did not have much of an appetite for lunch, so all she did was sit at the table together with the children. They were all ravenous after a full morning of playing outdoors, and they wolfed down their food hungrily. It allowed them to push the thoughts of Sora out of their minds for the time being.

"Oh, you're here." Chihiro looked up at the sound of Shou's voice, and he waved at the other children as well. "You're not eating anything?" he asked, worry plain in his disapproving gaze.

"Not hungry," she shrugged. "I'll eat something later."

"Do you not like the food here? I'm on lunch duty, so I can check if there's stuff out back for you."

"Thanks Shou, but it's fine. I'm really not hungry."

"Are you sure? You should eat more, especially since you're so thin."

"I'm really fine, Shou." They heard a few people calling his name from a distance. "You should go," she urged.

"Fine..." He sounded reluctant. "Oh, by the way Chihiro, mind doing me a favour?"

"What is it?"

"I'm on lunch duty so I can't bring Kohaku's lunch to his room. Could you do that for me? And make sure he actually eats it and not just leave it alone in a corner."

"Of course."

After a couple of wrong turns down the hallways, Chihiro managed to find her way to the dragon's room. His tray of food was resting on her lap as she wheeled her chair forward to knock on the door.

There was no answer. He was probably not in the room at the moment. What should she do? Chihiro supposed she could leave the tray of food outside his door, but putting his food on the floor would be a bad idea. What if he kicked it over when he was entering the room?

She tried the knob and found that the door was unlocked. Resolving to put the tray somewhere and making a quick exit, she pushed the door open and entered. The room was brightly illuminated, the sun's rays streaming in through the clear, open glass window. Chihiro had always imagined Haku to be the neat, organized type, but the dismal state of his room was proving her otherwise. His bed was not made, the blanket haphazardly collected in a small mountainous heap on the floor next to the bed, the indent of his head still clear on his pillow. Stray pieces of paper littered the floor, and his trash can was knocked over, with crushed pieces of paper spilling out of it. The room smelled a little stale, but there was a hint of the smell of rain and fresh water. His scent.

Chihiro snapped herself out of her thoughts. This wasn't the time to be inspecting his room. She had to leave quickly, or risk getting caught by him in his room acting like she was snooping around.

Thankfully, his desk was not too cluttered. Carefully, she lifted the tray and placed it atop it, making sure not to disturb the piles of paper near it. With her job done, Chihiro wheeled herself backwards and was about to leave when a sudden strong gust of wind through the open window sent the piles of paper flying into the air and falling to the floor like dead autumn leaves.

Chihiro frantically moved forward to pin the pieces of paper down with her arms, looking around for possible items that she could use as paperweights. There were a couple of brushes on his table, and she decided they would have to do. After pinning them down on the table and neatening the stacks, she got to work picking up the pieces of paper from the floor.

It was a hassle having to bend down and reach for them, since she couldn't exactly get off her wheelchair. She managed to pick up a few pieces of paper, and was careful not to crumple them as she placed them on her lap.

She reached down to pick up yet another piece of paper, and was surprised to find that it was a drawing instead of the formal documents she had been picking up earlier. It looked like a child's scribbles, and was a simple illustration of a stick figure with long, blue hair. The background was that of a cloudy blue sky.

Did Haku draw this, by any chance?

" _Help..."_

Startled by the sudden sound, Chihiro flinched back and dropped the paper. It fluttered to the ground slowly. What... What was that? A voice? It sounded strangely familiar.

"Chihiro?"

The woman turned towards the door to see Haku standing there. "What are you doing here?" He stepped in, and she handed the stack of papers in her lap to him, point at the tray with her free hand. "Shou told me to get you lunch, and I was going to leave but the wind blew and sent your papers flying."

"I see." He accepted the papers from her and bent down to take the picture that she had been looking at earlier.

Chihiro wasn't sure if she imagined him stiffening when he laid his eyes on the drawing.

"Did... you draw it?" she asked softly.

"No." His answer was curt, and he stood up, placing the papers back on the desk and waving his hand once in a full circle. The other pieces of paper began magically floating up from the floor back towards the desk, arranging themselves back into neat piles.

"You should leave."

The stark coldness in his voice startled the woman a little. This was completely different from how he was last night. This wasn't the Haku she knew. A part of her knew that the best thing to do would be to make a hasty exit from his room and not say anything else to him, but she wasn't exactly thinking at the time.

So being the genius she was, Chihiro blurted, "Is that a picture of Sora?"

Haku's head jerked towards her with immense force, a mix of confusion and pained anger swimming in his green eyes. "Why do you know her name?"

"I... I was talking with the children earlier, and they told me what they knew about it..." She trailed off uncertainly, feeling any confidence she had evaporate under his piercing gaze. His lower lip trembled and she watched his hands that were by his sides slowly ball into tight fists.

"Sorry for bringing it up," she muttered, dropping her gaze to the floor, the tense atmosphere unbearably suffocating right then. "If- If there's anything I can do to help, I can lend you a listening ear. I mean- I'm not- I know what it feels to lose someone you love, so—"

"I _said,_ you should leave. Now." The sharp warning in his voice didn't go unnoticed by the woman, and she even swore she heard a low growl in the back of his throat as he turned his back to her.

"Sorry..." Without a moment's hesitation, Chihiro spun around and left the room. The moment she was out of his room, the door slammed shut behind her, the sudden loud sound making her jump a good few centimeters from her seat.

Her heart still pounding in her chest as she reeled from the shock and the aftermath of that tense exchange, Chihiro blankly sat in her wheelchair for a good few minutes, chiding herself for being so insensitive and bringing up something that the children had already told her not to say to the hurting man. A pang of guilt hit her for making the situation worse than it already was. Well, it wasn't as if she could do anything to help. Only time could heal wounds that deep, and even then the scars would remain. Haku didn't seem like he would be getting over Sora's death anytime soon.

After a while more the woman finally found the sense to leave and head back to the sick bay. On the way back to the sick bay, she bumped into Shou, who greeted her cheerfully as usual, but noting her listlessness, was quick to voice his concern.

"I just said something bad to Haku- I mean, Kohaku," she said miserably, burying her face in her hands.

"Did he told you to stop calling him Haku?"

"No, he didn't," she replied.

"Then what happened?"

Chihiro briefly recounted the encounter earlier to Shou, who listened with an uncharacteristically grave expression on his face. Once she was finished, Shou wordlessly went behind her and began wheeling her somewhere.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Since you already know this much, you might as well learn everything about Kohaku's past."

* * *

Shou brought her out to the small, empty garden in the shelter. The place smelled of herbs and spices that were being cultivated for use by the shelter's residents. There was no one else in sight, and they came to a stop by a small pond filled with crystal clear water, and no visible sign of fishes or any living organisms inside.

"This is where they first met," Shou said, taking a seat next to her on the grass. He kicked his legs out and dropped his head back, closing his eyes and allowing the wind to run through his bright orange locks of hair. "And it's where they decided to build this shelter."

"They founded this shelter together?" Chihiro asked.

"Yeah. It happened about seven years ago. They were both kind of roaming about, I guess. They never really told me the details — I guess they had difficult circumstances, and they were kind of built a relationship based on that." He let out a long sigh. "I miss her too, you know. Sora was one of my best friends, and I really thought she and Kohaku would be perfect for each other. They were just... so compatible and had great chemistry and everything. It was only natural for them to become lovers. We all thought they would become each other's mates someday too. It's like... they were inseparable, you know?"

"I can imagine..."

"Both of them started out in the Shugorei, that's how I got to know them. We were all assigned to the same team since we were the greenhorns who just joined at the time."

"I see. Was Sora a dragon spirit too?"

"Yeah, one of the prettiest I've seen too," Shou said with a wistful laugh. "But she's really strong too. We used to spar a lot and we were usually neck and neck with each other. Haku always won the both of us though."

Chihiro smiled. "Sounds like it was a lot of fun back then."

"I guess," he said, his laugh fading away into a grimace. "Sometimes I just wish we could all go back to how it used to be."

"What happened to her?"

At the question, Shou heaved a long sigh and sat up, cross-legged. "It happened when we were assigned with a mission that was more difficult than usual. It was only assigned to our team, and none of us really anticipated it the criminals to be that skilled. We were all surrounded, and we requested for back-up but it would take a while before they could come to our aid, so in the meantime we were toughing it out.

"Kohaku was about to get killed, but Sora pushed him away just in time, saving him." His voice dropped several decibels. "She... She didn't make it."

Chihiro placed a hand on Shou's shoulder, squeezing it in silent reassurance. He offered her a smile and patted her hand, indicating that he was fine. "Kohaku hasn't been the same ever since. He always blamed himself for not being strong enough, and even after we managed to convince him that it couldn't have been helped, he distanced himself from everyone. He continued to excel in the Shugorei as a mage and continued to maintain the shelter in Sora's place, but it's like he can't and won't let anyone in anymore. Even _I_ can't get him to talk to me candidly about what he's going through."

"That's..." Chihiro couldn't find the words. "He just decided that he would be able to handle it alone?"

"Not just that. I think he decided that getting too emotionally invested in another relationship would only burden him, so he just distanced himself from everyone else, all except for me and Sakura."

"Maybe he just needs more time."

Shou sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Maybe. It's just worrying and vexing to see him like this every year."

"I understand. But I think it's great that you've always been there for him, as one of the only people he can count on now. I'm sure he'll be fine with you and Sakura and the others supporting him like this."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," the man looked up and offered her a genuine smile. "I think you might be able to help too, you know."

She raised an eyebrow. "Me? How? This is my first time seeing him after twelve years. I'm not exactly the closest friend to him."

"Well, there's the fact that he lets you call him 'Haku'."

"Is it that much of a deal? I thought he was just letting it slide since we're old friends."

"Names are our lives, Chihiro, never forget that," Shou said sternly. "If he's letting you address him by his old name, then you must be something special."

"I don't think so..."

"I can tell these things. I've known him for years."

Chihiro fought back the rebuttal on her tongue, knowing that she would just get shot down again by the man.

* * *

" _Help..."_

 _Chihiro found herself surrounded in a familiar darkness, called by that same voice. This time, she wasn't afraid._

" _Sora? Is that you?"_

 _There was a sob — not of sadness, but of relief._

 _Then, from the corner of her eye, she spotted a wisp of blue. Spinning around, she found herself staring at the back of a woman with long blue hair that cascaded down her back, pooling at her feet like a waterfall. Her body was glowing with an ethereal light, her skin a pearlescent white that shone brilliantly in the darkness. Her shoulders were trembling as she cried, and Chihiro slowly stepped towards her._

" _Help him."_

 _Her voice was much clearer this time. Far from its initial ghostly quality when she heard it the first time, Chihiro found her voice especially pleasing to the ears, flowing sweetly like honey and tinkling musically like small chimes in the wind._

 _Chihiro stopped a few meters away from her, when she could no longer hear her crying and the place became like a silent void._

 _She spoke, breaking the silence. "How can I help?"_

* * *

A/N: _'Hanaichimonme'_ is a traditional children's Japanese game.

Long, update, so I'm forgiven? Hopefully? :D

Sorry that I took over a month to update, I've been busy with school. Unfortunately I'm going to take another month to update because my A'level exams are just around the corner. After my exams I'll be free to sleep all day and do stuff like write fanfiction to my heart's content too haha so thanks for reading and I'll be back!


	9. Hurt

**The Wait 2.0: Hurt**

The man's footsteps against the marble flooring echoed through the length hallways, the clipped sounds alerting the guards flanking the entrance at the end of the hall to his presence. Upon noticing him, they stood at attention and bowed to their heads to him.

"Greetings, Lord Kohaku."

"Lord Makoto has been awaiting your arrival."

Wordlessly, he nodded and they each rested a palm on the pristine white wall. A light blue glow surrounded their hands, and then the towering, circular door slid open with a loud creak. The room revealed before him was pitch dark.

He entered nonetheless, and then the guards closed the door shut, enveloping him in darkness.

It was silent, and everything was still. The dragon could not sense any movements whatsoever. Makoto was most definitely here, however, and he was wasting time on another useless test of his skills. He should know better than anyone how capable the dragon spirit was already. Kohaku had proven himself exceedingly worthy of his position in the Shugorei by now.

"Do not be complacent."

Kohaku barely had time to react. He ducked to the left just as a sharp gust of wind sliced through the air where his head was before. He let out a growl and haphazardly sent a similar air cutter in the vague direction where the attack had come from. There was a very low chance it would actually hit though. He was wide open, and he was sure that Makoto could see his every move.

Kohaku was then attacked with a barrage of more wind attacks, leaving him no time to attack as he focused all of his attention on avoiding them and defending himself.

"You are too slow." The deep bass voice grated on the dragon's ears. Frustrated, he let out a loud growl, which failed to impress his chief at all.

"My lord, this is hardly a fair battle," Kohaku said through gritted teeth, grunting as he leapt away before a gust of steaming hot water burst through the ground beneath him.

"Real battles are never fair. Should you not know this by now?"

Kohaku was knocked to the ground when he failed to anticipate a wind cage that forced him down on all fours. The pressure was so intense that the flooring beneath him began to dent, and he gritted his teeth as he attempted to fight back. However, the cage was far too strong for him. No matter how much he tried to summon the wind spirits, they would not listen. They only obeyed the commands of the superior caster, and the superior one was not him.

Eventually the cage dissipated and the lights from the lamps hanging from the ceiling came on, illuminating the grand, large room. The floor that was dented slowly returned to its original state and the man got to his feet, dusting himself off. A sting on his cheek caught his attention and he raised a finger to it, only to discover that it was bleeding slightly. He wiped it off with his sleeve, the thin streak of red only irritating him further.

"That was a disappointing performance, Kohaku. I expect you to be training harder. You are hardly fit to lead a team the way you are now." The strong, powerful voice was accompanied with clipped footsteps that sounded through the quiet room. Kohaku gritted his teeth, biting out a rather begrudging, "Yes, my lord," in response.

Makoto descended down the stairs after placing a book that he had been perusing back on the bookshelf and seated himself at his desk that Kohaku was standing in front of. He was a man just slightly taller than Kohaku, sporting long, dark green hair that was tightly secured in a bun as usual. There were no stray strands of hair on his face, nor were his clothes wrinkled in any visible way. He was dressed in a black ornamental kimono, giving him a stiff air of formality wherever he went. Interlacing his fingers and resting his hands on his desk, he gazed up at Kohaku with an arched brow. "I believe there is a report overdue on your part."

Kohaku had been dreading this. He had already anticipated that Makoto was suspicious even since he got called to headquarters, and at this time of night. A wordless question sat on his tongue. Was Tadashi responsible for informing Makoto against his orders? There was no other way Makoto would have found out, since it was rare for Shugorei officials to check on the Mirror personally themselves, especially so now when it was nowhere near the time for the Mirror to open. There should not be anything strange enough to prompt the higher-ups to investigate further, and his _shikigami_ situated near the Mirror had indicated no threat in particular.

"I noticed Tadashi's sudden increase in workload even though he seemed mostly done with his official duties here in the Shugorei for the month. It was only natural to deduce that something of grave importance had occurred for him to be willing to do more work at this time," was Makoto's next statement.

Kohaku clenched his fists, his gaze hardening. Makoto's ability to infer his thoughts infuriated him to no end.

"Is there any reason in particular you chose not to inform me earlier?" Makoto questioned.

"I wished only to confirm the facts before reporting to you, my lord," he replied evenly, attempting to keep his straight face despite the frustration boiling within him. The way things were now, once the Shugorei learned about the crack, it would be far more difficult for Chihiro to return home. Not impossible, but it would be cumbersome to have to get through the guards.

"Go on."

"I'm afraid to report that there has been a breach in the Mirror."

Makoto's eyes widened a fraction, but overall seemed rather unfazed by the news. He must have been guessing something along those lines, from the amount of work Tadashi had been allocated. He raised his chin, prompting Kohaku to continue.

"I am still unsure with regards to the cause of it, hence I tasked Tadashi with searching through past case files on criminal activities to do with the Mirror as a start. I inspected the Mirror and I believe the crack is not due to any faults with the Ancients' spell."

"Have you secured the area?"

"I have _shikigami_ placed there to keep a lookout. So far there have been no particular incidents of concern occurring because of the crack."

"Not even, say, a _human_ crossing over?" Makoto pressed.

"None that the _shikigami_ have been alerted to," he answered.

"Why did you not think to notify us earlier so that we could tighten the security in the area?"

"I did not wish to alert the perpetrator if he were to attempt to do something at the Mirror following the crack."

The explanation seemed acceptable enough to Makoto, who gave a curt nod. "Alright. I will personally see to this matter. You may leave now."

"Yes, my lord." He turned to exit immediately, having no desire to remain longer in this place.

"Kohaku." Hearing his name, the dragon spirit halted in his tracks and spun around to face his superior once more.

"Yes?"

"I hope you will be able to keep control over your emotions during this period and not slacken on your training. Remember your responsibilities to the Shugorei and to your team."

A low growl instinctively settled in the back of his throat, his pupils dilating as he shot a fiery glare in the man's direction. "I did not think someone of your status had the time to mind my personal affairs."

"It is hardly personal if it affects your execution of duties in the Shugorei. You should know the gravity of your role here."

"Stay _out_ of my private affairs," Kohaku snarled, baring his fangs, "Even if you are my superior you do not have the right to stick your nose where it does not belong. And if it appeases you, rest assured that I will not neglect my work here. If that is all, excuse me. I have other things to attend to."

With that, he turned on his heel and promptly left the room.

* * *

Chihiro clicked her tongue and frowned when another gust of wind blew in her direction, causing the paper on her notepad to flip upwards. Her pencil drew a long, ugly line across her sketch as a result. With a huff, Chihiro set her pencil down and took her eraser, carefully removing the blemish on her sketchbook.

She was a corner of the field once more, and had just finished playing a short game with the children before she had to sit down and rest. Her legs had gotten much better thanks to the ointments and creams that Kazune had provided her with to rub over her wounds, no doubt they were imbued with magical properties as well. They were healing at a remarkable pace. She didn't need the wheelchair today, though she still couldn't walk too fast. At this rate, Kazune said she would be free to go home the next day. All she could do now was cross her fingers and hope that her mother would not be too angry for her delayed return, and that the letter Haku had written would be able to allay her fears somewhat.

Seated with her legs propped up on the soft cushion of fresh green grass, Chihiro had her sketchbook resting on her knees and her stationery lying scattered around her like toys around a toddler. The weather was perfect for drawing outdoors, aside from the breeze that was a little too strong for her liking. It was creating a mess, and it was difficult to pin the pages down with her arm while she was drawing.

Initially, Chihiro had intended to draw the children in the field — after learning that she could draw, they had all been thrilled at the idea of being drawn by her. However, her hands and mind decided to draw something else. She would leave the children's portraits for later.

It was difficult to get it right. Chihiro's memory of her dream was fuzzy, at best. All she remembered was that she had met a beautiful woman in her dreams, pleading for her to help Haku. _Ko_ haku.

She sighed. It was hard to get rid of her habit of calling him Haku. That was the name that had rang in her mind so fondly for the past twelve years, after all, if not his full name, the Kohaku River. Kohaku sounded strange, foreign. She doubted she would ever get used to it.

After erasing the ugly line, she continued her light sketch of the figure. She remembered the long, flowing blue hair at least. It was absolutely mesmerizing, the way her hair flowed like a tranquil and calm waterfall. Chihiro hoped she would be able to bring that out in this drawing, though she doubted any drawing would be able to do this fine woman justice.

 _Sora._ It was a lovely name. It was also a name that made Chihiro's heart ache. She had seemed so broken and so desperate for someone to come to her aid. Her voice had been shaking, quivering with quiet sobs for the man she loved, then and till now.

How weird, thinking of Sora as if she were still alive. But then again, her appearance in her dream had seemed so real somehow, as if she were speaking to the person herself. Maybe her spirit had come to visit her, but if this was the Spirit Realm already, then did spirits have spirits too?

Chihiro released another frustrated sigh as she grabbed her eraser to erase and re-draw the woman's feet. They were dainty, but not _this_ small...

Just then, she heard a small gasp behind her, startling her slightly. Her head jerked to look behind her shoulder, and she found a young woman who looked to be around the same age as her gaping at her drawing. She had medium-length, wavy pink curls that framed her pale face, and she was carrying a basket filled to the brim with what smelled like medicinal herbs. Chihiro recognized her as the woman who had called Shou away from the game yesterday.

"You... You..." She struggled to find the words. Chihiro shrank back, worried that she was someone with a phobia of humans or something. Maybe it was a bad idea to tell Shou that she would be fine on her own for the day. She didn't know any of the spirits living in this shelter, aside from the kids, after all. What if some of them turned out to be passionate haters of humans and decide to roast her or something?

"Is that... Sora?" The woman eventually managed out in a near whisper.

Chihiro slowly nodded, brushing off the eraser dust from the page and lifting it up so that she could have a better view. "It's supposed to be, but this isn't going very well."

The woman dropped the basket onto the ground, nearly spilling its contents, as she dropped to her knees next to Chihiro and gently grasped the sketchbook in her hands. Disbelief, sadness and shock clouded her soft blue eyes as she ran her finger along the half-drawn figure on the paper. "How?" she asked, turning to face Chihiro. "How do you know about her?"

"Shou told me," Chihiro replied, relaxing slightly when she sensed no ill-will whatsoever from the stranger.

"He can't describe people's looks for nuts, especially not women. How did he manage to describe Sora's appearance to you? This looks so much like her!"

"Shou didn't really tell me anything about that... I kind of... saw her?"

"Pardon? You're saying that you've _seen_ her? You have actually met her before?" This woman's mouth was opening so wide Chihiro was worried her jaw might break soon.

"Technically, not in person, but I dreamt of her last night. Or maybe she visited me in my dreams. I don't know," she replied, hoping that she didn't sound too crazy.

The woman seemed to be believe that, and she lowered her gaze from Chihiro back to the drawing on the paper, before meeting her eyes once more. "You are... the human, Chihiro, yes?"

"Ogino Chihiro. It's nice to meet you." Chihiro held out her hand for a handshake, momentarily forgetting that spirits did not greet each other like that, hence prompting her counterpart to stare at her outstretched hand quizzically.

"You... have a nice hand..?" she ventured, just like Shou had, causing Chihiro to chuckle and take her hand in hers, shaking it lightly. "Humans greet each other like this," she explained, and the woman understood, shaking her hand firmly back. "My name is Sakura. I work here."

"Sakura... is it because of your hair?" she asked.

Sakura let out a small laugh as she took a lock of pink hair and twirled it around her finger. "Well, it's also because I was born under a cherry blossom tree."

"That's nice. It's a pretty name, and your hair has a beautiful colour."

"Thank you," she lowered her head modestly. "Oh, are you feeling better?" Sakura gestured to her legs.

Chihiro nodded and smiled. "I'm feeling much better now, thank you."

"That's good to hear. Kazune is one of the best doctors I know. The medicines and healing spells that he creates are the best."

"He creates them?"

"Yes. He was born with an amazing talent for alchemy. You're lucky to be treated by him, or maybe it's the other way around. Just yesterday I was talking to him and he wouldn't stop rambling on and on about how different the human body is compared to ours."

"It must be fascinating for him to learn more about it," Chihiro said in reply, her eyes dropping back to her sketchbook that was still in Sakura's hands. Sakura seemed to notice that, and sheepishly apologized as she returned it to Chihiro. "So, Koushou told you about Sora, huh."

"Yes, he did."

Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes. "And yet, _he_ was the one who told me to keep mum about it. Honestly... If you don't mind me asking, why were you drawing a picture of her?"

"Oh, about that..." Chihiro pursed her lips and got back to re-drawing her feet while speaking. "I've been dreaming of her and hearing her voice lately. I don't know why. I've never met her before, but the dreams just seem kind of... _real,_ somehow, and she keeps asking me to help Ha— Kohaku. Sorry if this doesn't make any sense," she hastily added, not daring to glance up at Sakura. She was probably coming across as a weird person. "I just wanted to draw her to see if it helps me make some sense out of all this. And she's also very beautiful— from what I saw in my dreams, that is."

"That's a little odd," Sakura commented under her breath. "I wonder..."

"Hmm?"

"Oh, nothing. I just... had a strange thought. But that's impossible." Chihiro noticed her shaking her head from the corner of her eye. "Your drawing looks exactly like how I remember her," she remarked, making Chihiro sigh. "Thanks, but this isn't quite right either. I just can't seem to get her features exactly the way I saw them in the dream. My memory of it is pretty fuzzy."

"Well, I think it's beautifully drawn, and you have a remarkable talent."

"Thank you," she smiled. "Was Sora a close friend of yours?"

"We were best friends. Practically sisters," was Sakura's immediate response. The tinge of sadness in her voice made Chihiro stop her sketching to listen to her properly. "It's been almost three years since she died, but I still miss her just as much. Sometimes I wake up and just stay in bed for a while more because I think anytime Sora will just burst into the room and drop a hot bun on my face to get me out of bed in the morning just like she used to. Or sometimes when Kohaku and Koushou come back from a job at the Shugorei, I wait for them at the entrance every time, hoping that by some stroke of luck they found a way to revive her. You know, magic and all." Her hands made some sort of gesture, in an effort to explain visually what magic was like to Chihiro, not that it really helped. Chihiro merely nodded and offered her condolences.

"I know what it feels like. My father died two years ago," she said, to which Sakura glanced up with wide eyes. "Oh, I'm so sorry for bringing this up," Sakura began, but Chihiro waved it off. "It's fine, I should be the one apologizing for bringing up Sora."

"There's nothing to apologize for. Even though no one says it, Sora has always been in our minds, especially since it's nearing her death anniversary. And then there's Kohaku to worry about... He's probably hurting the most out of all of us here in the shelter," she muttered.

"So I've heard," Chihiro agreed. "I wish I could do something for him. From what Shou told me, it doesn't sound like he's been dealing with this in a healthy way."

"What did Shou say?"

"He said Kohaku's been distancing himself from everyone ever since."

"It's true," Sakura nodded. "He just doesn't want to get hurt like this again. Although, it's not like he can help it. He's just like that — he can't stop caring about people, even if he tried to," she added rather drily. "It's just the front he tries to put up. But Koushou and I know better."

"That sounds a little more like the Haku I know," Chihiro smiled, before grimacing when she realized she had called him 'Haku' again. "I'll never get used to calling him Kohaku, I think."

This seemed to amuse Sakura, who couldn't help but chuckle. "Right, I remember the children buzzing over someone's incorrect addressing of our oh-so-mighty dragon spirit's name just yesterday during dinner."

"Ugh, I hope he doesn't mind too much." She slumped, burying her face in her hands. "This is so embarrassing. To think I was the only one who didn't know how much he hates that name."

"Don't worry too much about it. If he didn't look or sound angry when you called him that, he's probably fine with it."

"Really?"

"He's not the kind of man to tolerate these things," she said. "Even Sora got the silent treatment from him before when she addressed him that for fun. But then, it _was_ Sora after all, so the silent treatment didn't last for more than two hours."

Chihiro's lips curved upwards into a smile. How childish. "The silent treatment?" she chortled. "Seriously?"

"Oh yes, the silent treatment," Sakura grinned back, shaking her head. "He has a childish side to him too. Just— don't mention it in front of him. He'll know that I was the one who said it. He hates it when I tease him about it."

"Okay."

"Well then," Sakura stood up, retrieving her basket and brushing off random grass blades that were stuck to her yukata. "I think I've spent too much time taking a break. I'm supposed to bring this to the kitchen and start preparing for lunch. It was nice talking to you, Chihiro. I hope we get to talk more in future."

There wasn't much a chance they would be able to talk again, since Chihiro was due to return home soon, but she smiled anyway and nodded. "Yes, we will."

* * *

Chihiro was idly wandering about the rather empty corridors in the shelter. Large, grey clouds loomed overhead, obscuring the Sun completely by now. The wind was stronger than usual and she felt goose bumps rising on her arms. The other spirits had long returned indoors, and Chihiro found herself relishing in the silence and tranquillity that she hadn't enjoyed in a while.

That is, until Shou's unceremonious appearance.

His sudden greeting behind her gave her quite a significant scare, causing her to gasp rather loudly and jump up, and she had to hold on to the wall to keep herself from falling. His arms had been outstretched to catch her in case she fell too, but they were slapped away by the peeved woman. "What was that for?" she asked with a huff, still trying to gather her wits about her as she continued to lean against the wall, glaring at him through narrowed eyes.

"I didn't think you'd actually get that scared," was Shou's nonchalant reply as he doubled-over in laughter.

"Of course I would! Who sneaks up on people like that? And you didn't even make a sound!"

"You're just not alert enough," he retorted confidently, but cowering immediately when she raised her hand for another slap. "Okay! Okay! I'm sorry... that you're such a mouse." He added that last line just to rile her up again and swiftly evaded the incoming slap from the woman. "Now now, Chihiro, there's no need to get so violent."

"You're impossible!" But even she couldn't suppress her laughter now. Shou was fun to hang around, even if he could be a giant tease.

"Great counter," he quipped sarcastically, before extending a hand to help her away from the wall. She merely glared at it, and reached out to slap it, except that he withdrew it away from her before she could and then she found herself falling forward. She would have fallen on her face, if it weren't for him catching her.

"Gods, are you falling for me, Chihiro?"

Chihiro held back the thanks that she was about to say. Righting herself and sending him a flat glare, she asked, "Are all spirits this deluded?"

"Do all humans live in denial?"

She made a strangled noise in the back of her throat, turning away and throwing up her hands in the air, utterly exasperated. "I give up."

"So I guess that makes _me_ the winner of this argument, yes?"

"I believe you're supposed to be much older and by association, more mature than me,old man."

"I _am_ more mature. Clearly, I'm doing a better job at winning your arguments with my wits. And," he raised his hand and not-so-gently flicked her on the forehead, "I'm. Not. Old."

She scowled at him, rubbing the sore spot on her forehead, but gave up attempting to hit him. He was part of the Shugorei after all. She was no match for her reflexes.

Giving up, she decided to stride away from him and at least make a dignified exit. Unfortunately, with the condition that her leg was in, she could only manage a relatively speedy half-limp that made her resemble a zombie more than anything.

Much to her annoyance, it only seemed to amuse Shou even more, who maintained his walking pace beside her and peered over at her curiously, experimentally calling her name in varied tones to get her attention. She kept her eyes averted to the opposite side to keep from seeing his smug face. She resolutely remained quiet, determined to keep up the silent treatment at the very least.

And being the clumsy woman she was, she failed to notice a stray piece of trash on the floor and slipped on it. With a yelp she found herself falling forward yet again, except this time it wasn't Shou who caught her.

Chihiro's nose made painful contact against something hard, and then she felt hands on her arms to steady her. "Chihiro?"

She jerked back and glanced upwards, only to realize that she had bumped into Haku. Hastily, she stepped back, brushing his hands off of her. "I'm so sorry!" She lowered her face and tried to discreetly rub her sore nose, but obviously it didn't go past the dragon spirit's notice. How hard was his chest, anyway? Did he have his dragon scales on under those clothes?

"Are you alright?" he asked, sounding quite concerned. She offered a smile and shook her head, saying, "I'm fine." At least he wasn't as big of a tease as Shou was. Although, when she looked up, she noticed the ghost of a smile playing on his lips. He was clearly amused by this.

A snort from her right caught her attention and she found Shou covering his mouth with a hand and trying to keep from making too much noise.

Mortified, she felt heat begin to gather in her cheeks. Of all scenarios to get into after that encounter with Haku the day before... Noting her pointed gaze at Shou, Haku asked, "Did Shou do this?"

In an instant, the blond sobered up. "It wasn't my fault! She tripped on her own!" he defended hotly. "Why is everything automatically my fault, huh?"

"Because I know just how insufferable you can be," Haku replied flatly. "Stop bothering Chihiro."

"She likes my company."

"No, I do not," she shot back.

"That's hardly the kind of thing to say to someone you like."

"Except for one thing: I _don't_ like you."

"Dragon, I rather think she's been spending too much time with you. Feisty one, she is," Shou muttered, making Chihiro roll her eyes with a small laugh while Haku emitted a sigh.

"Shou, don't you have some errands to run? I believe Sakura was looking for you earlier."

"Sakura?" Chihiro swore she didn't just imagine the link pink flush on his cheeks as Shou said it. "Shit, okay, I'll be on my way. See you later, Chihiro."

Shou took to his heel and sprinted away, leaving the two behind and alone.

"If I didn't know better, I would think that Shou likes Sakura," she said.

"He does," was Haku's matter-of-fact reply. "But the both of them are a little too dense to realize that their feelings are mutual."

Chihiro let out a squeal before she could stop herself, earning herself a curious glance from the man. "S-Sorry," she muttered, turning away.

"What are you apologizing for?"

"For making that weird noise."

"That's a rather strange thing to be apologizing for."

"W-Well, I hope the two of them realize it soon," Chihiro said, suddenly feeling very awkward. Was he still upset with her about yesterday?

"Penny for your thoughts?" he questioned. She glanced up to meet his eyes, and couldn't help but smile at how he seemed quite pleased with himself for using human slang.

"I just... wanted to apologize for yesterday," she admitted. He took a moment to realize what she was referring to, and she felt him stiffen somewhat. "I didn't mean to bring up something that would hurt you, and I know this is a difficult period for you. I just wanted to know if I could do anything—"

"That's enough." His curt tone unnerved her more, but she nodded and halted her rambling. "Do not bring this subject up anymore. I..." he trailed off, perhaps not knowing quite what to say next.

"I know how you feel."

"No you don't."

"Yes, I do. My father, he—"

"Chihiro."

" _Help him."_

Without thinking, she blurted, "Sora doesn't want to see you this way." The woman immediately regretting it when Haku's pupils seemed to dilate slightly and his nostrils flared noticeably. She hadn't planned on telling Haku about this, but she couldn't ignore Sora, or that desperate voice. Whether it was real or not, she believed Haku needed to hear it all the same.

Haku remained quiet, though his piercing stare scared her. Nevertheless, she continued, "I know you're hurting, but you need to learn to face it and try to move on. Sora, she—"

"You do not know anything," Haku interjected sharply, silencing her quite effectively with his fierce tone. "Do not attempt to act as if you know my personal issues better than anyone else. My private affairs are of no concern to you, nor do I owe you an explanation."

"Kohaku, that's not what I—"

"I do not need sympathy or pity from a mere human, and do not for one second think that you are entitled to knowledge about me simply because you gave me back my name years ago. You have my thanks for that, but nothing more. This is my final warning: keep your nose where it belongs and do not broach this subject any further. You will leave this shelter tomorrow. Koushou will be in charge of bringing you home."

Having said his piece, he stormed off, leaving the dumbfounded woman behind, but not before adding one last thing over his shoulder:

"And this time, do not come back."

* * *

 **A/N:** I have just created a huge jerkface in place of sweet ol' Haku. What on earth have I done?

I don't have time to edit this, so do pardon any mistakes that I may have committed! Thanks for reading and thank you to the people who sent me such sweet reviews! :') They have kept me going and it was nice to read them before taking my papers haha. Thanks again for making my days and I'll see you after my A'level exams! (:


	10. The Water Fall Punishment

**The Wait 2.0: "The Water Fall Punishment"**

The sky outside was overcast, sheer streaks of grey staining the white clouds in the distance. The wind was restless, storming through the trees and the grass, slipping in through the partially opened window in the sick bay. The lone woman within had to pull down on her beanie to keep it from falling off her head entirely. Her bag was packed and it lay on her lap, a little bulkier than it was when she came, since she had just kept in it a few presents she had received from the children in the shelter earlier.

They had given her some of their candy, made a card together with a drawing of her in the center and small written notes from each of them around the picture. It was a cute drawing of her, one that appeared to have been done with color pencils and crayons. The two messages she read had brought tears to her eyes, so she decided to leave the rest for later, and put it away lest she got more emotional than need be. They had also folded some cranes for her, to wish her well on her journey. She wished she had the time to prepare presents for each of them. All she could offer was a hug with each one of them before she had to come back here to pack up and meet with Shou to go home.

"You okay there?" Shou's sudden appearance startled the woman, and she hastily dried her eyes with the back of her hands before facing him with a tiny smile.

"I'm fine."

"Your face says otherwise."

"I'm fine," she insisted, averting his gaze and standing up, taking her bag with her. "We should go, right?" Sidestepping him, she made it so she was walking in front, so that he wouldn't see the one tear she failed to stop from sliding down her cheek.

"You know, if you're upset you can talk to me about it. I may talk a lot, but I know when I need to shut up and listen," Shou called from behind her, as he hurried to catch up with her unusually brisk walking pace.

She only shook her head. "I'll be fine," was all she could offer him in reply. Shou didn't lie when he said he knew when to be quiet. Her silence was all he listened to for the rest of their walk out of the shelter.

At the entrance, against her better judgment, Chihiro paused and turned back, her gaze lingering on the arched gate with a sign that read, "Kaigo Shelter". Although there was not very much packed in her bag, it suddenly felt like a tremendous weight on her chest that weighed her down, anchoring her to the spot. Her chest constricted with pain and irritation as she glanced around and failed to see any sign of the person she wished to see most.

She heard the man next to her release a sigh. "He's not coming, Chihiro."

That, she knew. Hearing it stung a little too much though. "I know," she whispered, hoping her voice hadn't sounded too shaky. "I just... I know." It would be too much to ask for right then, given how things had ended yesterday. This wasn't how she wanted their farewell to be, especially when she knew it would be their last.

Well, to be fair, she couldn't stack the blame all on herself. Kohaku certainly wasn't being the most forgiving or understanding friend that he probably used to be.

"We should go," Shou urged, and at his voice she reluctantly tore her eyes away from the sign, all while trying to ignore the gaping hole in her chest.

"You're right." Chihiro turned around and met his worried gaze, plastering a decent smile on her face to indicate that she was doing fine. "So... how are we going there?"

He sent her a look of confusion at the odd question. "The same way you got here."

She took a moment to register that, since she _had_ been unconscious the whole journey to this shelter when Kohaku had brought her here. "Oh. But, you're..."

He cracked a smile at her puzzlement. "Step back a little, would you? I need some space for this." Chihiro did as told, stepping back until he told her the distance between them was already plenty. She watched quietly as he closed his eyes and he drew his hands in towards his chest. His face was serene, as if in a deep meditative state. Not long after, a ball of bright, orange light birthed from his chest, which then gradually grew larger and larger until it enveloped his head and body.

The brunette had to squint her eyes and use her hand to shield her eyes from the blinding glare of the light. An intense, fiery heat emanated off from him, and she couldn't help but take a few steps back lest flames engulfing his phoenix form struck her or something. It made her wonder if a real phoenix looked like the ones she had seen in books. Soon after, the light faded. When Chihiro opened her eyes again, there before her was a magnificent creature that she had only ever dreamed of meeting, a being that artists could only attempt to glorify on paper.

"A phoenix," she breathed, her eyes widening in awe at the majestic creature standing in front of her. His body consisted of a spectacular array of red and orange feathers that resembled ferocious flames. They danced gracefully as the wind blew against his large body. A crest of golden feathers crowned his head and glimmered in the sunlight, creating a nimbus that gave him an air of majesty. His sharp talons and beak were a deep rose-gold color, the beautiful color drawing a sigh from the woman. She stepped closer, carefully stretching her hand out to touch his long, thin neck. Her fingers met soft, feathers, its comforting warmth reminding her of a _kotatsu_ in winter.

Experimentally, she ran her fingers down the phoenix's neck, noting the silkiness of his feathers against her skin. "Shou, you're... you look..."

His dark eyes gleamed playfully, clearly pleased at the prospect of being complimented — or worshipped — by her.

"You look fatter than I thought you'd be."

As if she'd give him that satisfaction.

He couldn't speak, and so the phoenix could only release a sharp squawk through his open mouth, directly at her face. The loudness startled her, and her hands shot up to cover her ears at the piercing sound, her face contorted with shock, which almost immediately turned into that of annoyance.

"Shou!" she scolded.

All he did was stick his head up in an apparent scoff, before turning around so his back was facing her.

"Oh fine, I was just kidding. Can't birds take a joke?"

Indignantly, he slammed his talons onto the ground like a child throwing a tantrum. How absurd, for something as grand as a phoenix to behave like that. Her chuckles grew into a laugh, and she was expecting Shou to retaliate against her physically since he couldn't do so verbally as he usually would have, but when he turned around to face her, he didn't make that awful noise again. She had been expecting him to, already raising her hands to cover her ears. Instead, he gently nudged her forehead with his beak, before nuzzling the soft feathers on the top of his head against her cheek.

Chihiro understood. She hugged his neck in return. "Thank you. I feel better now," she murmured, a smile lifting her lips.

* * *

Truth be told, dragons were more passenger-friendly than phoenixes were. Probably by a rather large margin.

Chihiro was currently gripping onto the phoenix's neck as tightly as she could without strangling him, for fear of falling. His body was less sturdy than Kohaku's, and worry ate away at her at the thought of slipping off those silky feathers of his.

She tried to ignore the lump that was forming in her throat as memories of flying on a friend's back surfaced in her head. That friend was nothing more than a stranger now. He had changed far too much, or maybe circumstances had changed him.

Chihiro pressed her cheek against the phoenix's neck. Well, she supposed an upside to Shou was that his body's warmth was excellent at keeping her warm, against the continuous rush of wind against them as they soared through the air.

An army of mountains grew from the land beneath them, their towering peaks protruding out from the sheer white fog that covered the valleys and rivers below. In the distance, Chihiro noted smoke rising from what seemed like chimneys. As they drew closer, she realized that it was a village, its spirit residents bustling with activity in the streets. They looked like tiny ants crawling up and down the earth, going about their own businesses for the day.

Chihiro wondered what else there was about the Spirit Realm that she had yet to discover for herself. She barely had any knowledge, had seen far too little, and had yet to meet enough spirits to feed her curiosity about the kinds of beings spirits really were. Were there other spirits like Yubaba, spirits like Lin, Kamaji, or Haku? What other abilities did different spirits have? Did they have superpowers like the heroic figures in movies? What was the history of the Spirit Realm? Why were there two different worlds?

There were so many things she wanted to know, but time apparently could not afford to wait for her.

It was a relatively long ride that passed in silence, and eventually Chihiro spotted the familiar outline of the bathhouse, the quiet, empty streets and the large green meadow. The Mirror, she remembered it was called. This was it. She was going home now. However, Shou began to dip closer down towards the bathhouse, landing in a secluded corner at the back of the tall building instead of the meadow.

A flurry of feathers encompassed the phoenix's body and then Shou was back in his human form, and grabbing her by the arm to keep her close to the wall. His eyes were narrowed, warily scanning the area, his entire body on alert. Chihiro stopped herself from questioning the spirit, instead keeping quiet and following his eyes. There was no one around, as far as she could tell. The only thing that would indicate any sign of life in the area was the smoke coming from the chimney of the bathhouse and the smell of food.

It took a while for Shou to decide that there was no threat in the area, before he released a sigh and visibly relaxed. Letting go of her arm, he turned to her and said, "We don't have much time, so I'll just be direct. Chihiro, I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it?" she asked, a little concerned by his uncharacteristic somberness with the small frown on his face.

"I want you to come back here in three week's time."

It took her a moment to register his request, and then she furrowed her brows in confusion. "Come back? But, why?"

"I believe you're the only one who can help Kohaku."

"What? Me? But he said—"

"I know what he said. But it was out of concern as it may have been out of spite. It's for your safety, because with the Shugorei getting involved, you shouldn't be here. You could easily end up killed if you're discovered by anyone."

Chihiro knew about the Shugorei and the Mirror. Shou had told her about it just yesterday to prepare her ahead of time in case of any complications that may arise while crossing over. While she paused a little to consider this, Shou added, "I know it's a lot to ask of you when your safety is at stake, but..."

She shook her head. "I'm not worried about that, Shou. If I can help a friend, I'll do what I can, but what makes you think I can help Kohaku?" she asked. "I'm... just a human."

"You can help him _because_ you're a human."

"What do you mean?"

"You told me about your dreams. You can hear Sora's voice. And I think there's a reason for that. Amongst humans, it's quite common to hear of stories of people experiencing spiritual encounters, yes? Or something to do with supernatural occurrences? I forgot the word that humans use when referring to them..."

"Paranormal activity?" she ventured.

"No, like the spirits themselves. Humans call them something else."

"Like... ghosts?"

Shou snapped his fingers, perking up. "Yeah, that. _Ghosts_."

"So you're saying... that I'm being haunted by Sora's ghost." Chihiro couldn't help but glance surreptitiously behind her shoulder, wary at the prospect of being haunted by one herself.

"Not exactly. What you humans call "ghosts" are actually the essences of a gone spirit," he explained. "When spirits die with an strong unfulfilled wish or desire, they become gone spirits, and their spirit essences will linger in this world until they find some sort of respite, which seldom happens. This rarely happens, but there are times that spirit essences cross over into the human world and haunt humans. We spirits cannot see or sense these essences, but humans can, if the gone spirits are strong enough. Because of that, they tend to cling to the humans who can see them in the hopes of fulfilling their last wishes."

"So that means..."

"Sora has chosen you to help Kohaku in her place," Shou concluded.

Chihiro blinked a couple of times as she attempted to register all this in her head. "So those dreams... they were real? And the voice..." She couldn't help the chill that ran down her spine. Hopefully Sora wouldn't be offended, if she was watching.

"So, will you come back?" Shou asked hopefully.

"But how can I help Kohaku if he doesn't want my help?" she asked, irritation starting to bubble up within her again. "He made that pretty clear."

"I don't know, but I can't think of any other way to help that dragon," he said. "Right now you might be the only one who can."

"Then... Alright," Chihiro agreed. "I'll help."

Shou heaved a sigh of relief and broke into a huge grin, before pulling her into a brief hug. "Thanks a lot, Chihiro. We owe you one."

"That's what friends are for, you know," she smiled. "So, how is this going to work, with the Shugorei and all?"

"I was just about to get to that," Shou replied. "In three weeks, head over to the mouth of the tunnel over at your side. I'll be there in the morning to pick you up."

"Okay."

"We should go now," the man said, looking around and peeking out from the wall that hid them, "It's not safe to stay any longer."

"How are we going to move out?" Chihiro asked, following his gaze.

He turned his head to face her and sent her a smirk. "Just do as I say."

* * *

Chihiro felt quite ridiculous doing this, but she supposed there was no other way around it.

"Looks like the others aren't here yet," he said, as he strode across the meadow as if everything was normal.

Chihiro nodded and clung tighter to Shou's body. "Do we really have to do this?" she whispered. Her arms were already feeling tired, and they were only halfway across.

"What a quiet morning it is! Makes you think that nothing's wrong here at all," the man said loudly as he stopped to stretch his arms and back. Then he continued on his way, but not before shooting the woman a pointed glare.

Chihiro bit her gum, sending him an apologetic look. She wasn't supposed to talk, not when they were out in the open like this, but a part of her wondered if Shou had suggested this on purpose, just to annoy her as he usually did. Right then, she felt like an over-sized baby koala clinging onto a tree for the first time.

Shou had cast a spell to refract the light around her so that she would appear invisible to others. Chihiro had been delighted to know that she wouldn't have to hold her breath throughout the walk, like the time when Haku helped to bring her across the bridge — that hadn't worked out very well.

Unfortunately, there was a catch to this spell. Shou said that she would be discovered far too easily if she were to walk next to him — the grass would be a clear indicator of her presence. So, the solution that Shou offered was for her to hold onto him like this. He couldn't well carry her, so she had to use her own strength to stay securely on him until they were safely across.

"Sir Koushou, what brings you here?" Chihiro craned her neck to look behind her. There, she found two guards at the edge of the meadow, standing right above the slope that led down to the tunnel's entrance. They were both dressed in navy blue hakama with matching kataginu, and had long swords tucked at their waists. Their imposing figures and natural scowls made Chihiro press closer against Shou, holding her breath and tightening her grip on the man. She dared not imagine the consequences of being discovered by them, even if Shou was here.

"I'm here to check out the other end of the tunnel," Shou replied. "Lord Kohaku's instructions."

"I'm afraid you made a wasted trip, sir," the guard on the left said. "We have just examined the other end and found nothing suspicious."

"Is that so... I'd like to check it out one more time, just in case. Lord Kohaku has been keeping an eye on this area with his shikigami and he just informed me of movements on the other end."

"There will be no need for that," the other responded firmly. "Lord Makoto himself has already given us instructions to prevent any crossing of the Mirror as far as possible. Permission to cross over must be given by Lord Makoto himself before we can permit it."

"Lord Kohaku said that this is an urgent task. I have no time to obtain Lord Makoto's permission right now."

"Apologies." Both of them lowered their heads. "But we cannot make any exceptions."

Shou was at a loss for words — for the first time. Chihiro felt her pulse quicken. What were they to do now?

Their eyes met as Shou attempted to think of a solution. It didn't take long for him to perk up once more, wearing a playful smirk that could only mean that he had thought of a brilliant idea.

"I understand, if it's direct orders from Makoto," Shou conceded with a sigh.

"Thank you for understanding," they said.

"So how long have you two been posted out here for? And what are your names?"

"Sasuke here's been on duty for the past two weeks," the guard on the left pointed to his comrade, before gesturing to himself, "I'm Jin and I've been here for slightly more than one," he said.

"So, Jin and Sasuke, huh? I haven't seen the two of you around before," Shou said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Are you two new?"

"Yes sir, we're both new to the Shugorei."

"So you're both part of the infantry."

"Yes sir."

"Cool. I remember when I started out in the infantry. Starts off kind of tough in the beginning, huh?"

Chihiro's arms were feeling weaker by the second. She nudged Shou, sending him a pleading look in the two seconds it took for the guards to think about their answers. All Shou offered her in response was a curt nod.

"It's tough, but the training has served us well," Sasuke replied quite respectfully.

"You were cussing out the heavens just yesterday after training," Jin pointed out, much to the annoyance of his friend.

Shou only laughed in response. "It happens. Well, can't be helped. The commanders can be harsh like that. Speaking of which..." a grimace appeared on his face. "I'm not looking forward to Lord Kohaku's reaction to my failure to personally inspect the Mirror as he ordered."

"Sir Koushou, if you don't mind me asking," Jin began, "Is Lord Kohaku as frightful as the rumors go?"

"I don't want to go around badmouthing my superior, but you know..." he leaned in and sad a little softer, "If I mess up even the slightest bit, he'll make me go through the _Water Fall Punishment._ "

"The Water Fall Punishment?" both of them echoed in wonder.

"The Water Fall Punishment," Shou repeated in a grave tone. "Just saying its name makes me shiver." The man made sure to exaggerate his trembling as he continued, "It's the worst punishment you could put anyone through," he muttered. "Oh gods, this is such a terrible day to be alive..."

"W-What kind of punishment is that?" Sasuke inquired.

"You wouldn't want to know," Shou replied. "Ignorance is bliss. Just... make sure to avoid getting on his bad side, or you'll seriously regret it."

"W-We'll keep that in mind..." Jin said.

"Well, looks like there's nothing I can do. Bye guys, if I'm still able to walk after a week I'll come look for you two again. Farewell... hopefully not for good."

Then he turned around and started walking away, all while Chihiro silently protested and nudged him as hard as she could without giving them both away. And here she thought that Shou had actually thought of a good idea that would help. She watched helplessly as the tunnel gradually disappeared from sight, hidden by the slope of grass.

Just then, she felt three fingers on her back.

Then two.

And one.

"Wait, Sir Koushou!"

Shou flashed her a smug grin before turning around and feigning surprise. "Yes?"

Sasuke jogged up towards him and said, "We suppose we can make an exception for you, since Lord Kohaku has given his orders. Besides, given Lord Kohaku and Lord Makoto's relationship, it should be alright if you cross over just to inspect everything and make sure that nothing is out of the ordinary. We might have missed out something that Lord Kohaku detected."

"Really? What if you get in trouble for this?"

Sasuke shook his head, offering him a reassuring smile. "It's just for a short while, so it should be fine. Go ahead, but hurry."

"If you say so, then I'll go ahead. You have my thanks," Shou grinned, before striding past them and heading straight for the tunnel down the slope.

Chihiro couldn't help the grin that her lips stretched into. Once they were out of earshot, she whispered, "The Water Fall Punishment? Was that for real, or did you just make it up?"

He shrugged. "My old mentor used to punish me with that."

"What kind of punishment was it?"

"It's an extreme form of self-control training in which his disciples are not allowed to pee for the next two days."

"You're joking."

"Yeah, I am."

That earned him a punch to the shoulder, though it was soft so that it would be quiet. "You are _so_ annoying."

"I know," he grinned, supporting her weight with his arms once the darkness of the tunnel enveloped them.

"Thanks, Shou. I owe you."

"Anything for a friend, Chihiro."

* * *

 **A/N:** I... will think of a better title for this chapter.

Sorry this took so long. I've been struggling with a writer's block lately, and it was difficult to write because the words just wouldn't come as naturally as they used to. It's still not very easy, but I'm slowly getting back to it. Hopefully it'll get better by the next update.

I fussed a lot over this chapter and it took a lot of time for me to feel satisfied with this, hence the delay too. (Sorry again.) I feel that my writing hasn't really improved for a long time, so if anyone has any critique for me about my writing in general or about specific chapters, I would deeply appreciate it if you could leave it in a review or PM haha. I want to know how else I can improve and I think hearing from you guys would be best. Thanks for all your support so far by the way. ^^

If you want to know my writing progress, I'll be regularly updating my profile to let you guys know how things are going.

Yup that's all from me. Thanks for reading~


	11. Help

**The Wait 2.0: Help**

"Chi, weren't you just released from the hospital? Why are you back here again?"

Chihiro looked up at the sound of her nickname, and found her friend, Ayano, standing opposite the table she was cleaning with her arms folded across her chest and wearing a disapproving look. The sight of her friend made her lips twitch upwards into a smile, albeit a rather sheepish one.

"Hey, Ayano."

"Don't 'hey' me, Chi. What are you doing here? You should be resting!" the raven-haired girl exclaimed, stepping forward and snatching the cloth that Chihiro was using to wipe the dirty tables. "Did Dad ask you for help or something?"

"Of course not," Chihiro said. "He was opposed to letting me help out today, but I managed to convince him otherwise."

Ayano sagged her shoulders, deflating. "Seriously, Dad... When I see him, I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind."

"What did I do now, to make my daughter so angry?" Both women turned to the source of the voice, and there a man stood wearing a shirt that was half-wet with sweat and an apron with streaks of yellow grease on it. He was wiping his face with a towel and fanning himself, muttering under his breath about how hot the weather was.

"Dad!" Ayano wasted no time in storming over to the man, who looked rather confused. "Why did you let Chi work today? She had her chemotherapy session just last week!"

"What— Is that true?" Mr. Yamada asked, his eyes wide with shock. "Chihiro, you should have told me!"

"It's already been a week. I feel more than fine now," Chihiro replied. "I didn't want to laze about anymore so I came to make myself useful somehow."

"Chi," Ayano groaned. She looked like she wanted to say more, but stopped herself, and in a calmer tone, said, "Okay, you know what, I'll help to finish cleaning up the shop. You, head up to rest for a bit. I'll be up in a minute. I have stuff I need to talk to you about."

Chihiro felt a little bad for making Ayano do the work that she was supposed to do, but there wasn't any point in arguing over this. "Okay then," she relented. "Thanks, Ayano."

Ayano didn't take long to finish cleaning up, and when she got back to her room upstairs, Chihiro was already seated on the floor, leaning against the side of the bed, mindlessly fiddling with her phone.

Chihiro glanced up when she heard her friend's footsteps, and watched quietly as Ayano closed the door behind her and approached her. Having just gotten back from school, Ayano was dressed smartly in a white dress adorned with pink floral patterns. She placed her bag the chair in front of her desk and then took a seat next to Chihiro on the floor. There was a moment of silence, and Chihiro felt dread rising in her. Ayano didn't need to say anything for her to know what she would say next. They already had this conversation numerous times before, a conversation which always followed this heavy silence and tense atmosphere.

Ayano then broke the silence with a long sigh, and spoke, "Did the medical bills go up—"

"We are not having this conversation, Ayano," Chihiro cut in sternly, shooting her friend a sideways disapproving look. "It's not something you have to worry about."

"Chi, you're always like this," her stubborn friend scolded with an exasperated groan. "Why won't you tell me if you're having difficulties? It's not like I'll laugh at you or leave you to suffer alone, right? You know that I'll do everything I can to help you. That's what friends do."

"I do know that," Chihiro agreed. "We've been best friends since middle school, Ayano. I know that you'll do anything if I just ask you for help, but that's exactly why I can't do that to you. I already owe you and your dad so much for taking care of me whenever I come here to work or visit. I don't want to owe you even more than I already do."

"You know, friends don't care about this owing business," Ayano retorted with a deep frown. "I know where you're coming from, Chi... But I'm your friend and I don't care about stuff like that. Besides, it's not like I don't owe you anything from back then."

Chihiro arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Ayano looked almost offended as she shot Chihiro a glare and pouted. "You don't remember? Back in middle school when I was bullied by the "K trio", you were the one who stood up for me, even though that meant being targeted by them as well."

"What?" Chihiro chuckled. "That was ages ago, Ayano. Stop bringing that up."

"And let's not forget the time when we both had a crush on Kurou."

There was a flicker of recognition in Chihiro's eyes. "Oh, the upper-classman in high school, right?"

"Yeah," Ayano nodded. "You gave up on him immediately because you knew I liked him too, and you even tried to get us together. Don't think I didn't know that."

"It's been so long," Chihiro smiled, nostalgia causing her chest to feel warm. "You don't have to bring these up."

"My point is," Ayano went on, "You've done a lot for me in the past. So you should just stop whining and let me help you now, okay?"

"Ayano..."

"Don't 'Ayano' me. And those puppy eyes won't work on me anymore, Chi."

Chihiro rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. The only puppy eyes that work on you now is Mahiro's puppy eyes, right?"

She laughed as her friend's face started to redden till she looked like a tomato. "M-Mahiro? Nonsense! I've never even seen his puppy eyes!"

"You are _so_ head over heels for him," Chihiro laughed. Mahiro was Ayano's current crush. She could understand why. From what Chihiro had heard from Ayano, he had dozens of admirers from high school already, and the number was only rapidly growing now that he was in college. According to her best friend, Mahiro was a gentlemanly, mild-mannered guy, the only living example that chivalry wasn't dead yet. Apparently he also shared many of Ayano's interests, and they had hit it off pretty well when they first met, their chemistry astonishingly good compared to the other guys that Ayano had dated before.

In short, Mahiro was her ideal boyfriend.

It was just too bad that Mahiro didn't seem to be showing any romantic interest in her, although Ayano claimed that it was just a matter of time before he realized how perfect they were for each other.

"Stop teasing me!" Ayano complained, smacking her friend on the arm before pulling her knees to her chest and lowering her flushed face.

"Why not?"

"If you don't zip your mouth now, I'm not going to tell you about our recent developments."

Chihiro's eyes widened, and then she let out a squeal, throwing her arms around her friend. "What do you mean by 'recent developments'? Tell me everything now!"

"Okay, okay, just stop squishing me!"

The both of them broke into giggles, and Chihiro spent the rest of the evening listening to Ayano's stories until it was well past the time for her to get home. She hurriedly left after promising to visit as soon as she could, before Ayano could remember the original topic that they had been on earlier in the evening.

Chihiro couldn't stop smiling on her way back in the cab. She hoped the driver didn't notice from the mirror. If he did, he didn't voice his concern for her sanity. It had been a long time since she was able to spend time with her best friend like this — it was hard to meet up with her friends now that they were all in college and busy with other things. Ayano was probably the only one she still met up often with. Her other friends, well, she only kept in touch with them via social media, and the occasional text on their birthdays or holiday seasons.

And inevitably, at times like these, her mind would drift back to the friends she had in another world, a world hidden and unknown to her home. It had only been nineteen days since she left the Spirit Realm, and already she found herself longing to see her friends back in the bathhouse and shelter again. There was the fact that she had to go back in two days as per Shou's request, but eventually she would still have to come home, and leave that world behind her.

She just wasn't sure if she would be able to do that.

But then again, it wasn't as if she had much of a choice.

Looking out the window and over the blur of buildings, her eyes fell on the dark night sky, empty and quiet. She couldn't help but wonder what her dragon friend was doing at this moment. Was he looking at the same sky as her? Was he lying awake on his bed, his thoughts keeping him awake and restless? Was his temper getting worse by day, lashing out at anyone who tried to go near him and console him?

She closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the leather seat. There was no point in brooding over it. She would find out when she next met Shou.

* * *

"You're here."

Chihiro gasped at the sound of a familiar male voice, and her head snapped towards the entrance of the tunnel. She could hear footsteps scraping against the cement ground of the tunnel echoing against its walls. The silhouette of a person could be seen moving towards her, and in turn she began walking towards the entrance as well. A man with bright orange hair emerged from the shadows, and she broke into a grin that mirrored his once he stepped out.

Immediately, she rushed forward, calling his name and throwing her arms around him. He hugged her back briefly, laughing. "Aww, I see you've missed me a lot."

She pulled away, rolling her eyes and deadpanning, "Yeah, sure, whatever helps you sleep at night."

"You can be honest with me," he chortled, earning him a slap on the arm. She had been a little concerned that things might be awkward between them after so much time had passed, but Shou was still the same Shou and awkwardness didn't exist with people— _spirits_ like him.

"So, how have things been?" she asked, after both of them sobered up a little.

Shou's smile quickly faded, and his eyebrows pressed down into a frown. His change of expression caused her smile to falter. "Let's talk more after we get past the Mirror," he said after a moment. "It's not safe to stay here for too long."

She nodded. There was no arguing with that. "Follow me," he gestured with a wave of his hand, before turning around to walk through the tunnel. She followed closely behind him, and soon they were draped in shadows.

It wasn't too difficult to get across this time, since Shou seemed to be friends with the guards there. They were different from the two she had seen the last time. It was probably a rotational thing, and they had gotten lucky today. Once they were at a safe distance, at the same spot where they had hidden at the meadow the last time, Shou put her down and changed into his phoenix form. "We're not going to the shelter yet... I'll tell you more when we get there," he had said in response to the questions that she had, and so currently she was flying on his back, holding on to him as tightly as she could without strangling him, and wondering to herself where in the world he could be bringing her if they weren't headed to the shelter.

Shou was flying much faster than he did previously, and with the cold wind blowing directly into her eyes, Chihiro had no choice but to squeeze them shut. No scenery gazing for her today, it seemed. With nothing much to do, she simply rested her head against the back of Shou's long neck, liking how soft his feathers were. He would make the best pillow.

She must have drifted off to sleep somewhere in the middle of the journey, because when she next opened her eyes, Shou was already back in his human form and he was nudging her awake. Blearily, she opened her eyes, confused as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings. They were in what seemed to be a small forest, if the multitude of trees towering over them was any indication.

Chihiro got up into sitting position next to Shou, and she found that they were seated on a fallen log, behind a large rock. Her lips parted, ready to ask him questions, but he raised his index finger to his lips. She arched an eyebrow in response, and in turn he pointed to the rock.

Curiously, she got up so she could kneel on the log. It was a comfortable height to peer over the rock, just enough so she could see what was past it and not too tall so she would be seen by whatever or whoever Shou wanted them to keep hidden from.

Past the rock, down the gentle slope of grass beneath them, was a relatively large open space. The sound of rushing waters filled her ears when her eyes came to rest on a river that covered a large expanse of the area. From what she could see, the bank on the opposite side was also covered by trees. Its blue waters were clear, restlessly moving in waves that occasionally spilled over the bank. The air was still, however, nor was there a storm brewing or black clouds gathering in the distance. The river was moving regardless, almost as if it was alive.

The sky was an empty pale blue, hanging over the rather conspicuous grave headstone standing in a bed of grass next to the river. It was sheltered by an exceptionally large weeping willow tree, its drooping branches falling above the grave like drapes that caused her to almost miss the other familiar figure standing under it.

Her breath caught, and her chest began to tighten just by staring at his hunched frame and his lowered head.

"That's..."

"Yeah," Shou replied grimly. "It's her death anniversary today."

She glanced back down at Shou, who was now staring at his naval, with his fingers interlaced and forearms resting on his lap. She wanted to respond somehow, but the words wouldn't come. She glanced back at the lone figure by the river, and she felt her heart clench painfully.

She understood.

Memories of her visiting her father's grave each year together with her mother, holding a bouquet of chrysanthemums in her arms, gazing at the picture of her father wearing his best smile on the headstone, flooded her mind.

She knew how it felt.

Quietly, she returned to her sitting position, leaning against the rock. Her gaze rested on Shou, who was being uncharacteristically silent. It seemed today was also getting to him.

Wordlessly, she leaned forward and placed an arm around his shoulders. He glanced up at her from the corner of his eyes that were covered by his messy bangs. "Don't worry about me," he said, patting her hand that was on his shoulder. "If anything, I'm more worried about that dragon."

"It's been hard on you, huh."

Her words seemed to shock the man, for he raised his head, confusion swimming in his eyes. She offered him a smile. "You probably didn't give yourself much of a chance to grieve since you were too busy worrying about him. Even now, it's the same. It must have been tough for you all this while."

There was a short pause before he asked, "How do you know?"

"My mother." The corners of her lips twitched upwards. "I was the same as you when my father passed away."

"Oh... Chihiro, I'm sorry—"

"It's fine," she replied. "It's been years. I've... gotten better. And you will too. So will he. I'm sure of it."

Shou looked up at her, his lips quirking up into an appreciative smile. "You know... you're good at comforting people."

"Really? No one's told me that before, but... you're welcome?"

"You ought to give yourself more credit," he grinned.

"Aww, you're making me blush," she chuckled, withdrawing her arm from around him and nudging his shoulder with hers. It was hard enough that he nearly fell off the log entirely, which caused him to flail about quite comically.

"Seriously? I could have died!" he exclaimed in disbelief, albeit in a relatively hushed tone.

"You're such a drama queen," she laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Wha... Drama queen?" His head was cocked to the left slightly as he attempted to debunk the meaning of the alien phrase. "But I'm a man. I can't be a queen. Or was that supposed to be an insult? Hmm?" Chihiro backed away as he crouched down in an intimidating pose, with a dramatically menacing scowl plastered on his face.

"No, no, it's not an insult," Chihiro explained, leaning away from him ever so slightly with both her hands raised. "It's just a phrase we use to describe when someone exaggerates things a lot." She held back a sigh. Shou was seriously impossible.

"Oh. I wasn't exaggerating though," he defended, dropping his intimidating stance. "I could have broken my neck, or worse, dirtied my face!"

It was hard to keep from snorting at that ridiculous statement. "I see your priorities are all perfectly in place."

"Of course they are," he scoffed, before releasing a small sigh. "Anyway, thanks for being here with me."

"Anything for a friend," she beamed.

"If only Kohaku could understand that," Shou muttered sourly, peering over his shoulder in the direction of the man down the slope. "He's always keeping things to himself so we don't worry about him. It's been this way ever since Sora died."

"Yeah..." Chihiro said absently, stealing another peek by leaning out past the rock. The man was still standing there, seemingly having yet to budge from his position earlier. If she didn't know better, she would have thought he was a statue.

It was almost uncanny how similar he was to her in some ways.

"So, how has he been doing? Ha— Kohaku, I mean," Chihiro asked, snapping out of her reverie. She sat herself back down on the log next to Shou, and he scratched the back of his head as he thought about his reply, signs of a frown appearing.

"Worse," he answered. "But I'm already kind of used to it. He's like this every year."

"I see..."

"Any luck with Sora?" he asked, and she arched an eyebrow questioningly, before her confusion dissolved into understanding when she recalled him talking about the spirit essence thing.

"I haven't heard any voices in my head so far," Chihiro said, now perking her ears up for any such sound. It still gave her the creeps when she thought about how it was essentially Sora's ghost haunting her, but if it could help Haku, why not? "Do I have to do anything for her to talk to me?"

Shou shrugged, pursing his lips. "Beats me. I've always thought spirit essences were mere legends. It's rare for them to be heard by spirits, since well, they're supposed to be dead and not mess with the natural order of things here in this realm. If it's you... maybe she'll come when she wants to. Or she might not even be here. If I had to take a guess, she'd be down there accompanying Kohaku."

"That's quite likely," she replied, getting up so she could peek over the top of the rock again to get another look at the man below. The branches of the weeping willow made it difficult for her to see what kind of expression he had on his face, to tell how he was holding up, so she could only imagine. And hope that he would be strong enough.

If only there was something she could do to help... Not that he would want it anyway. She didn't really need a repeat of the events that occurred between them the last time she tried bringing this topic up. And maybe it would be a better idea to give him some privacy instead of constantly trying to talk about it. Some people just coped differently that way, she supposed.

" _Help him..."_

Chihiro felt her body freeze up. Her heart seemed to still for a moment before it began beating intensely against her ribcage.

Had she simply imagined that?

Or was it really...

" _Chihiro... please..."_

Suddenly feeling dizzy and a little nauseous, she backed away from the rock, stumbling on a bump in the uneven dirt. She would have fallen directly on her bum if it weren't for Shou's quick reflexes.

"I get that you're falling for me, but please be more careful?" Shou's teasing words were barely registered, drowned out by more words, now more coherent, and louder.

" _Help him... Please, help him..."_

"Chihiro? Hey, what's the matter?"

All she could do was grab tightly onto Shou's arm. She couldn't speak. It felt like someone had put her in a washing machine, and it was going in endless circles that made her feel giddy to the point of needing to throw up. In the background, the voice of Sora only continued to grow louder, the haunting sound of her words drowning out Shou's increasingly panicked words. His shaking, if anything, only made her feel worse.

What was happening to her?

She could feel herself slipping away, her consciousness fading into nothing. She tried desperately to cling onto something, anything, that would keep her rooted in reality, but nothing was working. Shou's voice eventually got drowned out altogether, as her eyelids began to droop.

Before long, her eyes were closed shut, and she no longer had the strength to fight against it anymore, whatever 'it' was.

Just before she slipped away entirely, she heard it again. This time, her voice clear as crystal.

" _Let me help him."_

* * *

It had been a long while. Too long, really, since he last saw her.

His memories of her were starting to fade. How beautiful she looked, how sweet she sounded, how she used to call his name, how soft she was in his arms... They were all fading now. It had been three years, after all. Putting a number on it didn't sit right with him. The days spent without her always dragged on for what seemed like a tiresome eternity.

Life had to go on, but for him, it just couldn't. He was stuck in time, sometimes waking up, thinking that she might burst through the door to his room to chatter about the next mission they had, or be lying right next to him, trying to get him out of bed so they could get breakfast with the rest.

Except that time never waited for him. Three years had already passed, three years without her. And an eternity more of it awaited him.

His eyes came to rest on the headstone in front of him, and his fists clenched by his sides. If only he hadn't been so caught up with his worthless pride... He had been the one to kill her. It had been a needless sacrifice, an unnecessary thing to have her snatched away from him.

Unfortunately, there wouldn't be a chance for him to make amends. It was too late.

Time waited for no one, after all.

There was a sudden rushing sound coming from the river that caught his attention, and some of the waters spilled over onto the grass next to it. The river spirits had been restless all day. They were soulless beings, yet it seemed they could remember the loss of the dragon spirit who had often communed with them in the past.

He released a long sigh. It felt strange. For the past three years on this day, he would be on his knees, rivers of his tears drowning the grass beneath him, crying out the name of the lover he had lost to his selfishness. But today, he felt an odd sense of calm. There was no denying the palpable sorrow and grief that continued to grip his heart, but there wasn't the torrent of emotions that used to be there every year.

Perhaps he had already poured them all out, and what was left was an empty shell of him now.

"Sora..." It had been a while since he last allowed himself to say her name. He glanced up then, his eyes drinking in the pale blue sky, a sky that seemed like it had been drained of its deep, vibrant color.

It was uncannily fitting for a day like this.

"Sora... I would give anything to see you again," he murmured to a stone that would never be able to hear or respond to his words. "I've missed you every day since then, and I... I just wish I could go back in time to when you still existed."

If only she were still here to listen to these words of his.

"Do you mean that?"

He flinched at the sudden voice. That voice... It instantly sparked off memories that had been locked in the back of his mind, close to disappearing and being forgotten forever.

No way.

There was just... no way.

This was impossible. He had to be dreaming.

Almost apprehensively, he turned his head in the direction of the sweet, lilting voice that he had been so accustomed to hearing every single moment of his life back then, back when the sky was still vibrant and alive, back when he wasn't... empty.

His eyes widened when they fell on the woman he thought he would never have been able to see again. Her eyes were sparkling, gleaming with life and joy that he recognized all too fondly.

She was standing right there, breathing and alive.

Her eyes, her voice, they were all the same, even the way she was poised, with her hands behind her back and her head cocked innocently to the side as she stared at him with the right corner of her lips quirked up in a teasing smile.

Everything was the same, except, this was...

"Ch... Chihiro?"

* * *

 **A/N:** I will come back to edit later because it's almost 1am and I'm too tired to proofread everything. Just wanted to get this up on the website as soon as I could.

Sorry for the extremely late update. It's been a while since I managed to write this story with the words smoothly coming to mind. Feels good to be back though, and since the hard part is over, it should be safe to say that updates will be more regular now. :) I'M SO EXCITED TO SCREW WITH YOUR FEELS AGAIN

If you came back to read this story after two months of nothing, thank you. Your support has been keeping me going, so thank you haha. See you soon guys. (:


	12. Letting Go

**The Wait 2.0: Letting Go**

" _Kohaku."_

 _The man stirred, grumbling something incoherent under his breath as he rolled onto his side so his back was facing the figure next to him. His eyes were glued shut, his mind already starting to drift back into another world, one that was far away from his real-world woes of writing reports and settling needless paperwork with the higher-ups._

" _Ko-ha-ku." Each syllable of his name was drawn out in her sweet, melodic voice, pulling him out of his sleep once more. He felt a weight on his shoulder, and vaguely registered the ticklish sensation of her warm breath against his ears._

" _What is it, Sora?" he muttered, his voice still heavy with sleep. When the weight didn't disappear, he peeked an eye open, only to find the room still clad in darkness. Dim moonlight filtered through the open window, the chilly night breeze cool against his skin. He turned over to his side, and found two bright blue eyes staring down at him. In the dark, he couldn't see her face clearly, but as he waited for her to respond to his question, he realized that her beautiful eyes were noticeably moist._

" _It's still dark. What's wrong, love?" he asked, sitting up and drawing her into his arms. She was quiet as she rested her head against his shoulder, her clutching at his tunic in small fists. As perplexed as he was, he deduced that it had been a nightmare that had woken her up at this ungodly hour, and thought it best to just hold her like this for a while more until she calmed down._

" _Did you have a nightmare?"_

 _He felt her nod against his shirt. So he had been right. A small exhale escaped him as he hugged her tighter. "Whatever it is, I'm here. Nothing can ever hurt you. I will never allow it."_

 _She nodded again, and this time he could feel her smile ever so slightly against his top. "Are you feeling better now?"_

" _Somewhat," she replied, sounding quite uncertain of herself. "Kohaku."_

" _Yes?"_

" _I have a question."_

" _What is it?"_

" _Will you love me even when I'm old and have wrinkly skin like an elephant spirit?"_

 _The question caught him off guard a little, and he took a moment to register that she had actually asked him something of this nature. She had never concerned herself with something this trivial before._

 _It was when she pulled away from him with a pout on her face that it dawned on him that his pregnant pause probably hadn't sent her a positive message._

" _Why this, all of a sudden?" he inquired in a gentle voice. "You've never been worried about this before, have you?"_

" _I just... had a nightmare. I had a curse cast on me that turned me centuries older than you and made my appearance morph into that of an old, ugly, wrinkly hag. And then you abandoned me in the forest to feed me to the wolves."_

 _He didn't even know how to react to this. Firstly, no such curse existed. Age and time was untouchable by even the most powerful and refined of magic. Secondly, what in ancients made her think he could ever bear to do something so utterly repugnant to her?_

" _Sora." Her name came out in an exhale of disbelief, and she chuckled._

" _I know, it's a foolish thing to ask," she said, a tiny smile playing on her lips. "But it just felt so real, I woke up with tears in my eyes and a need to ask you about it. Sorry for waking you," she added sheepishly._

" _It's fine," he said, taking her hands in his. "What matters more is that you're feeling alright." She raised her head to meet his eyes, and his lips curved into a soft smile. He could never help it when he was with her like this._

" _That was just a nightmare. This," he took her hand and placed it on his chest, over his beating heart, "is real. My love for you is real, Sora, and I can assure you that I will never leave your side or feed you to the wolves. In any case, I would fear for the wolves should they be left at your mercy."_

 _She giggled, prompting his lips to curl up further. "Even if I become an elephant spirit?"_

" _Hmm..." His gaze turned upwards, as he pretended to seriously contemplate this. "I might be able to make some concession for a stink spirit, but an elephant spirit... I may need more time to consider it." His mocking statement earned him a playful punch to the chest, as Sora broke into laughter. "Careful what you say, Kohaku, or you might end up like those wolves."_

" _I apologize, my true thoughts must have slipped out." He caught her by the wrist before she could deliver a harder punch than before, and then pulled her into a hug. The woman made a few disgruntled noises as she tried to squirm out of his grasp, but to no avail._

" _I mean it, Sora," he said through his chuckles," I will always love you. No matter how your looks change, you will always be the same dragon I fell in love with." That seemed to placate her, for she then stopped struggling and pulled away slightly so she could face him._

" _Is that a promise?"_

 _He nodded, a short breath of laughter escaping him. "Of course. Anything for you, my dear."_

* * *

"Ch... Chihiro?"

Questions were swarming in his mind, so much that he felt a little dizzy. It was Chihiro, her scent was the same, no doubt about that. But, what was she doing here? And more importantly, why did she remind him so much of _her?_

"Kohaku."

There it was again. Her voice. It wasn't Chihiro's voice. Yet, at the same time, it was. It was a mix of both.

Was he dreaming? Had he finally gone mad? There was... No, there was no way. It couldn't be that Sora had... using Chihiro... This was impossible. Absolutely impossible.

"Kohaku, it's me."

Instinctively, he took a step back, withdrawing from the advancing figure. He just couldn't believe it. He didn't dare to. Not after all this time, after he had struggled to take a step forward from the day she left this world. This was just something he was dreaming up. It had to be.

All she did was raise an eyebrow at his movement, but she seemed to get the hint and stopped where she was. A blanket of silence settled between them as he continued to stare at her, his eyebrows drawn down in a deep frown as he searched her face for any sign that it was Chihiro standing in front of him, that all of this was simply in his head. And yet, the more he stared, the more confused he became. There was no doubt it was Chihiro standing before him, her unique human scent lingering in the air. It was the only thing grounding him in reality, though even that was starting to waver.

She, in turn, had her gaze fixed on his. Despite the hint of a smile playing on her lips, there was a distinctive look of longing painted in her soft chestnut eyes. Her lips were parted, but she did not say anything. As if she was waiting for him to speak first.

"Y-You... You... I... I..." he stammered, unable to find the words.

"Kohaku, it's only been three years. You couldn't have forgotten my name already, could you?" she chided. Despite her relatively cheerful front, he could see the mix of sadness, frustration, happiness and relief clouding in her eyes.

"You... _Sora_?" The name left his lips as a near-whisper.

"Hmm, I guess you haven't."

He never thought he would be able to utter her name again and expect to hear a reply.

In that instant, his mouth went dry, and his mind turned blank. "I... I don't believe it," he replied with a shaky breath, taking another half-step back and raising both of his hands to clutch his hair. His heart was pounding against his chest, moisture gathering in his eyes. "How? Why? You're Chihiro, not—"

"It's my essence. Surely you've read about it in the books of magic. Makoto made us read all twelve volumes, remember?"

This was most definitely not Chihiro. So, this really _was_ Sora's essence? In Chihiro's body? How could this be? The questions whirling in his head were making him dizzy, and he screwed his eyes shut. Maybe this was all in his head, and when he opened his eyes again, she would be gone.

"Kohaku, take a deep breath, calm down," she said, obviously noting the state of distress he was in. "I know this is a lot to take in, but—"

So much for it all being in his head. Which could only mean, this was real.

Sora was here. In Chihiro's body. Talking to him.

"Kohaku? What's the matter?"

"What's the matter?" he repeated, incredulous. "What do you think?" he demanded, hot tears blurring his vision of the woman in front of him. "Today is your death anniversary, and yet here you are, in Chihiro's body, talking to me as if there's nothing out of the ordinary!"

"Kohaku—"

"I watched you die in my arms that day, Sora. I should have been the one to take that wound, not you! You were laid to rest right here and it was my fault! How can you be standing here, talking to me—" The man cut himself off abruptly as he choked back a sob. He fell to his knees as he rested his forearm over his eyes, and the tears began to flow down the sides of his face and drip from his chin onto the grass beneath him.

Memories of that day flashed again behind his closed lids. Holding her in his red arms, blood flowing freely from the open wound in her chest. Her eyes struggling to stay open, struggling to stay fixed on his as he begged for her to stay awake. Her final parting words that was interrupted with a violent cough that caused blood to spill from her mouth as well, before her hand fell slack and her body became limp like a rag doll in his arms.

"Kohaku, this isn't a dream." Her voice was far clearer now, louder than his ugly, messy sobbing. She was kneeling in front of him, speaking right by his ear, her arms enveloping his head gently and pulling it towards her chest. "I'm here now."

"How?" he croaked. "You... in my arms..."

"I never left," she answered simply. "My essence has always been here, right by your side."

"That's impossible," he retorted. "Spirit essences are but legends. You should have joined the great flow by now. You shouldn't be existing here."

"And yet, I'm right here, talking to you in this body." Her words were kind, gentle, pulling him deeper into this absurd fantasy. He had always longed to go to a world where she still existed, where she could still be with him. Perhaps the ancients had heard his pleas, and had granted him one more chance to see her. Or maybe it was a cruel punishment for him — to see her again, only to have to let her go once more.

The thought of that alone made him instinctively grip onto the hem of her shirt. He didn't want to let her go again. He wouldn't let her go again. Living without her for three years had been three years too many, too painful, too unbearable. All he knew was that she was back, and even if this moment wasn't real, even if he would wake up in the next minute only to find it was all a dream, he would treasure it for a lifetime.

"I've missed you so much," he said, feeling more tears well up in his eyes. His grip on her shirt tightened. "You have no idea how much I've longed to see you again. Living without you... I don't know how, but I can't. I can't go on like this, Sora. I need you back. Please, come back... Say you'll come back."

"I know. I've seen you when you were crying alone in your room and whenever you came here. I know it's been hard on you, Kohaku. I... I missed you too," Her voice cracked at the last bit. "But death is irreversible. You know that."

"There has to be a way," he spoke immediately, pulling away from her to look at her. "There must be magic out there that can bring you back to your body. And if there isn't, I'll create that magic. I can't bear the thought of you leaving again, it's just too much. I can't go on without you, and you know that."

She didn't speak, but the sadness in her eyes conveyed enough. Enough to make him feel a tangible pain strike his chest and feel his heart being dragged to the pits of his stomach. "Don't underestimate me, Sora. You know what I'm capable of. There are so many masters out there, so many unexplored areas of magic out there, there must be a way to get you back—"

"Kohaku," she spoke then, interrupting him. Hearing that tone of voice, he stopped his rambling and turned his gaze towards her. It felt strange, speaking to Sora even though she had Chihiro's physical appearance. No matter, he would be able to fix this, once he figured out a way to return her to her body and bring her back for good.

"There is only one way."

He felt a surge of hope rise in him, and his eyes snapped to hers, waiting eagerly for her to speak. "What is it?"

She glanced down then, pulling her hands away from around him and gesturing to her body. Correction, _Chihiro's_ body.

It didn't take long for him to catch on to what she was saying.

"You mean... Chihiro..."

She nodded grimly. "She won't come back."

Kohaku felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He let out a shaky breath of disbelief, pulling away from her and letting his hands fall to his lap. "No, that can't..."

"It is the only way," Sora continued firmly. "It's her or me."

"There must be another way. There must be some form of magic that can bring you and her back, we just have to find it—"

"I know what's out there," she cut in. "And I know nothing can bring me back, unless I reside in this body."

"You don't know that," he insisted. "There's no way you can know—"

"I do. I know far more than you do, Kohaku," she replied sadly, taking his hands. "This is the only way."

"It's the wrong way," he stated, staring directly at the woman. The woman in front of him wasn't Sora; it was Chihiro. His eyes swept over her, noting the beanie that covered her short, hazel brown hair. Her bangs protruded out from the front, tousled and messed up by the wind. Her arms were thin, her skin pale, her cheeks void of the rosy color that was there when she was a ten-year-old.

There was no way he could do this to Chihiro, the one who had given him his name back and allowed him to meet Sora in the first place. Without her, he wouldn't even be here — he would probably still be serving Yubaba. That, or he would have already been killed by Zeniba as punishment for stealing her golden seal.

Above all that, she was his friend. The only friend he had back then, and in turn, the only friend who trusted him with her life.

He would not betray that trust.

"Like I said, there is no other way," Sora repeated softly. "Kohaku, you must choose."

"I want both."

"That's not how it works."

"Then, I'll make it work," he said, determination burning in his eyes. There had to be another way to bring Sora back, without sacrificing Chihiro. There had to be one, even if Sora claimed there wasn't. She was mistaken, he was sure of it.

"Kohaku, listen to me. I can't stay in this body for long unless I fully merge with it," she insisted. "You must choose."

"No, I won't," he continued, trying to rack his brains for some sort of solution to this. Maybe Zeniba would have an answer. Or maybe even Makoto. Someone must know something. Shou and Sakura would definitely help, which would make things faster. This could work, if Sora were to just let him try.

"You're not listening. You can only choose one—"

"I don't _want_ to choose!" The man buried his face in his hands, at a loss. He couldn't. He just couldn't. One was his friend whom he owed far too much to, and another was the woman he loved, the woman whose life had slipped right through his fingers.

He felt a hand on his shoulder then, the gentleness of it all too familiar. "Be brave, Kohaku. I believe in you."

"But I don't. I don't know anymore. Nothing made sense ever since you left, Sora. I can't... I can't do this."

"Yes, you can. You already have the answer. You just don't want to say it."

Yes, in his heart he supposed he did know what the right choice to make was. But, he dared not voice it. He wanted this time to last just a little longer. He wasn't asking for much. All he wanted was a little more time.

"I promised..." he muttered, feeling a lump form in his throat that made it difficult to speak and breathe at the same time. "I promised I wouldn't let you go again if I had the second chance..."

"I know," she said with a sad smile. "I know you've been blaming yourself all this time, even though the choice to save you was mine."

"If I hadn't been so caught up with trying to prove myself to Makoto, then none of this would have happened. You would still be alive, next to me, and we wouldn't be meeting like this."

"It's not as if I didn't volunteer to go with you," she countered. "I wanted to make sure you returned alive and safe. And I'm glad you did."

"What does it matter?" His lower lip quivered. "I didn't return with you." He was tearing up again. Damn it.

It seemed his words were finally taking some sort of toll on her emotions as well. He noted the moisture welling up in her eyes, and the way she was biting on her lip to keep them from falling. She didn't want to cry in front of him, he knew. She probably thought it would only make things harder for the both of them.

"I don't regret doing what I did." Her voice was noticeably shakier than before. "I don't regret it, but I do miss you, Kohaku. You're not the only one, and you're not alone. I love you, and I always will. It's just... perhaps we were not meant to become mates in this life." The tears finally spilled over and they fell down her cheeks. She made no effort to remove them. Instead, her lips lifted into a smile as she reached forward to hug him again, this time burying her face in his shoulder.

His own tears began to fall as well, and he held her properly this time, hugging her and caging her in his arms like she was his lifeline. "The reason I came back was because I couldn't bear leaving without knowing that you would be fine without me."

"I could never be fine without you, Sora," he murmured. Pain was all that filled his chest. "A part of me died when... when you did."

"No, it didn't," she replied firmly. "The Kohaku River I know is far stronger and braver than that. You can move on from that day, if you would just find it in you to forgive yourself."

"Sora..."

"The fact that you've chosen to stay true to Chihiro is all the proof you and I need to know that you have the strength to take a step forward. Now all you need to do is let me go."

"I promised I would never do that to you," he sniffled.

"Yes, you did. And I promised to never leave your side, but I guess, since I've broken my part of the promise, you can break it too," she said, pulling away so she could wipe her tears away and offer him a genuine smile. "You'll be fine now. I know it."

He didn't quite agree, but Sora had always possessed a sort of persuasive power in her words. It was something he loved about her in times like these, but also something he hated whenever they got into a tiff. Hearing her say this was making something in him taking hold of the hope that he would be able to move on as well, even if he didn't want to move on, out of guilt more than anything. And even that was diminishing, the more he gazed at her reassuring smile.

"Come on, when have I been wrong?" she teased, cupping his face tenderly to brush his stray tears away with her thumb.

That was enough to get a chuckle out of him. "I don't think you want me to answer that."

"And what is that supposed to mean, _Haku?_ "

His smile faded slightly. Sora tended to call him by this name because apparently it could tick him off in the most amusing way, but right now, he couldn't find it in him to feel irritated. Hearing her call him like this with Chihiro's face felt a little strange. He didn't even know what this feeling was. Perhaps... he just hadn't heard Chihiro call him by that name in a while.

"Help me thank Chihiro later," Sora spoke after a moment, snapping him out of reverie. "I knew I could count on her to help you."

"What do you mean by that?"

"When she was in the shelter, I tried speaking to her because she was the only one who would be able to hear my voice. Spirits can't hear me, but humans can," she explained. "And she tried to talk to you about it, but..."

"But I treated her horribly in return for her goodwill," he sighed. Great, more guilt. He was practically drowning in it now. "I will make sure to apologize to her properly later."

Sora hummed in agreement. "She's a wonderful person. Make sure to treasure her, Kohaku. A gem like her is hard to find elsewhere."

"That will be difficult," he frowned. At Sora's confused look, he delved into a brief explanation about the situation with the Mirror, and the implications of letting Chihiro remain in the Spirit Realm for long.

"Yes, that will be hard," she muttered, furrowing her brows as she contemplated this seriously. "If Makoto or the higher-ups were to learn about this, then it could be dangerous for her." She let out an unhappy sigh at that. "And here I thought I would be relieved if she were to stay with you from now on."

"What do you mean by that?" he questioned.

"I mean what I said," Sora answered. "You and Chihiro have a special bond. I can tell, now that I'm... in this form. It was no coincidence that the both of you could meet the way you did, with her falling into your river and then stumbling upon this world a couple years later, and even now, when the Mirror of all things, has some complications."

"I admit we do have a kind of affinity with each other, but I don't think it is anything of particular importance. I don't understand what you're getting at."

"I just think that you should stay by her side. There must be a reason for all those coincidences," she smiled. "Treasure her, Kohaku. She... doesn't have a lot of time."

The last sentence caught his attention. "What do you mean by that?"

"She hasn't told you?" Sora looked quite surprised that he didn't know about the secret that Chihiro had apparently been carrying. "I thought she would have told you something about it."

"What is this about? What do you know about her that I don't?" Concern flooded him as he pondered over Sora's words. Humans didn't have as much time as spirits, that was a given, but the way she put it, it could only mean that Chihiro had a shorter lifespan than the average human, for some reason.

"You should ask her yourself," Sora stated with a grimace. It doesn't feel right for me to divulge information about her that I came to know because I have full access to her mind right now."

That, he couldn't argue with. He would have to reserve these questions for later, but he couldn't shrug off the ominous feeling that accompanied them.

"Anyway, Kohaku, I think it's time I leave." It was then that he realized that her body was starting to glow with a pale blue light. Sora moved to stand up, and instinctively he reached out to grab her wrist, stopping her from getting up. "No, it's not time yet," he rambled, "I have so many things to tell you, so many things I didn't get to do with you. Give me a little more time with you. There won't be another chance, will there?"

She shook her head, gently prying his hand off her wrist. "Sorry Kohaku, but it's long past the time I should have joined the great flow. Now that I know you'll be fine, I need to go."

"But I... There's still so much left..." The words died on his tongue, seeing her steely gaze. There was no arguing with her. It was time, and she had to go.

She had to leave him again.

Or rather, he had to let her go now.

"You'll be fine, I promise," she reassured, taking his hand and pulling him up to his feet with her.

"I... don't want to say goodbye again," he began, wrapping her in his arms. "I can't bear a second one." He had longed for so long to be able to hold her in his arms again, for as long as he wished, but it seemed this was all he could have.

"It's hard for me too," she murmured softly in his ears, squeezing him tightly in return. "But I'm sure we'll meet again in our next life or something. Maybe in that life we'll be able to keep the promises we make to each other."

"Maybe," he agreed, a tear slipping out from the corner of his eye. "I love you with all my heart, Sora. I always will."

"I will always love you too, Kohaku River. That will never change, no matter how many seasons and centuries pass. I'm sure we'll meet again, if fate allows." She pulled away then. Their moist eyes met, both filled with sorrowful love. Her eyes darted down towards his lips, and his hers.

"I... hope Chihiro won't mind," Sora whispered with a soft chuckle, prompting his lips to curl upwards ever so slightly. Tenderly, she cupped his face in her hands, while he trained his gaze on her. The pale blue light was slowly growing in intensity, signaling her time left was not long. There was no hesitation when they leaned in and sealed the distance between their lips, their kiss conveying the grief and pain that both of them felt in that moment.

The way she melted into his kiss and moved against him sparked off memories that had nearly been forgotten for good, except that this was the most bittersweet of kisses he had shared with her.

At least he got to do this one last time.

"Goodbye, Kohaku," she whispered, before the blue light gathered from the rest of her body, concentrating in her face, and then it left Chihiro's body altogether. In that instant, the woman fell limp in his arms, unconscious, and the dragon, with his face towards the pale sky, mourned for the loss of his beloved for the last time, just as he had promised.

* * *

 **A/N:** Too lazy to proofread so I'll edit this tomorrow or something. T_T I did _not_ plan for Sora and Haku's interaction to be this long... sigh. Looks like I'll have to leave the rest I initially intended to put in this chapter for the next one. Were the feels there? No? I REALLY HOPE SO BECAUSE I SPENT SO LONG ON THIS UGH.

Bet you guys thought Sora intended to steal Chihiro's body and stuff, but no, Sora is a sweet, sweet angel who doesn't deserve hate. In the original Sora was getting so much hate in the comments which I didn't understand. Please chill. I love her okay don't touch her. X)


	13. First Steps

**The Wait 2.0: First Steps**

Chihiro was, needless to say, confused, when she woke up and found herself in a guest room in the shelter, with a certain dragon spirit seated in a chair next to her bed. He was asleep, evidently having dozed off at some point while watching over her. It was night, though she wasn't sure exactly what time it was at the moment, nor did she know how long she had slept for.

Turning her gaze to the man next to her, she noted that his eyes were slightly swollen, the tip of his nose red. The lamps on either side of the bed were all that illuminated the room with a soft pearl glow. The shadows were caressing his face, and only his eyes were visible under the light, clearly enough to make it seem like he had little diamonds embedded in his lashes. Upon closer inspection, she realized that those were speckles of transparent droplets clinging to the tips of his long eyelashes.

Chihiro was stunned for a moment. She had no recollection of the man crying before. He was always strong, brave, never wavering. The only possible thing she could think of was that something had happened with regards to Sora.

Right. It was her death anniversary. Grief was only to be expected.

She thought back to earlier in the day, when she was with Shou. Right before she blacked out, she remembered hearing Sora's voice quite distinctly. Had something happened then?

Just then, she heard him stir with a low grunt in the base of his throat. She held her breath as she watched his eyes slowly open, his hand going up to his face to rub his bleary eyes. It took him a moment to realize that she was awake, and when he did, he readjusted his sitting position so he was sitting upright while mumbling an apology under his breath. He seemed more unsettled than usual.

"You're awake," he observed in a raspy voice. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine," she replied, her brows furrowing slightly in concern. "What time is it? How long have I been asleep for?"

The man glanced around, raising his right palm. As he did so, the light from the lamps grew brighter, until the room was bright enough to see clearly, though it wasn't too glaring. He stepped towards the window, opening it and looking out briefly. "It's a few hours left to dawn," he answered, before walking back to his seat. "You've just been asleep for a couple of hours. Don't worry."

"I see..."

"Do you remember anything?"

Chihiro took a moment to register what he was referring to. "No, I don't," she said with a grimace. "All I remember is hearing Sora's voice before losing consciousness. Did... something happen?" she inquired, at the rather troubled look on the man's face.

There was a pregnant pause as he pondered over the question. He lowered his face, bringing his fingers to his lips and Chihiro wondered if the glossy quality in his eyes was simply her imagination.

It took him quite a while before he cleared his throat to speak again. "I... don't really know where I should begin," he stated with a torn expression. Then he raised his head to meet her gaze. "I suppose I should start by apologizing for my abhorrent attitude towards you. You were only trying to help me out of goodwill, but all I did was turn a deaf ear and I said terrible things to you. I hope you will forgive me for behaving like that."

Her parted lips met and then they curved into a soft, gentle smile. "It's fine. I should be apologizing too. I was being insensitive to you while you were going through a difficult time."

"No, that was entirely my fault, Chihiro. You have nothing to apologize for."

"Yes, I do," she protested. "I shouldn't have forced my help onto you when you clearly weren't ready."

He raised an eyebrow at her determined gaze, before chuckling. "Since we are both bent on apologizing to each other, let's just forgive each other and let bygones be bygones. How about that?"

She chuckled in response to that. "Alright." It felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest, to finally have made up with him.

"Now then, I suppose I should fill you in on the details of whatever happened in the afternoon," he began seriously. He released a quiet sigh and she pursed her lips in response, leaning in slightly to hear him out.

It was a brief explanation of all that had happened in the afternoon. He told her about how Sora had essentially taken over her body temporarily to go speak with him personally, and how the talk with Sora helped him to iron things out between them. As he spoke there were times his voice wavered, and whenever that happened, she reached out to take his hand, squeezing it in reassurance. She could relate to him perfectly, after all. As he recounted all that had happened, memories of her father surfaced in her mind again, and she imagined being put in the same shoes as him, being able to meet her father again and having to send him off a second time.

It must have been agonizing for him, to tear open an already bleeding wound, but at the same time, she knew that for him, his open wound would finally be able to close, after an arduous period of suffering.

"Chihiro, are you alright?"

She glanced up, jerking out of her thoughts to see that he was staring at her worriedly. Then she realized that her eyes were unusually moist and that a tear had slipped out all on its own. Hurriedly she wiped it off, laughing a little as she did so. "Sorry, I'm fine. I was just thinking about how it would feel if I had to do the same to my father. You're amazing, really. And thank you, for... um, saving me, kind of."

"I only did what was right," he said. "I could never live with myself if I were to sacrifice another life for my own selfishness. Sora's was enough."

"Still... Thank you. For choosing me. It must have been hard."

"It was," he admitted. "But I have no regrets, because I got to see the both of you again."

Chihiro's eyes widened at his words, and she took a few seconds to process them before she could come up with a suitable response. "I'm... glad I got to see you again too, Kohaku." she replied eventually with a small smile. She meant it from the bottom of her heart.

A frown appeared on his face, one that she didn't understand until he corrected her.

"Please, call me Haku. Like you used to."

She raised an eyebrow at that. "Are you sure? But I thought..."

"Shou must have told you about it," he said rather wryly. "It is true that I abhor the name that accursed witch gave me, but," his eyes met hers once more, "I want you to call me by that name."

Her mind blanked for a good bit, and she fought to suppress the blush that she felt was starting to appear on her cheeks. "W-Why me?"

"Hmm..." It seemed like even he didn't have an answer to that question. "I suppose it is simply because..."

There it was. The tiniest smirk tugging at the corners of his lips, his eyes alight with the faintest amusement and his voice laced with kindness, sincerity and warmth that she once found in a special boy whom she had met a long time ago.

"...that was how we found each other," Haku concluded.

It was the first time in a long, long time that his smile actually reached his eyes.

* * *

It was morning again in the shelter and quite unsurprisingly, Shou had been the first one to burst into Chihiro's room to check in on her. He had bombarded her with questions to check on her wellbeing, barely giving her any time to answer him. It had taken quite a bit of time to placate and convince him that she was feeling perfectly fine after a good rest, and Haku had then popped in to invite them both for breakfast downstairs.

It was plain to her that the dragon was still in a melancholic mood, though he tried to conceal it behind a warm smile each time he caught her staring at him in concern. When they had arrived in the canteen, some of the spirits in the shelter had still appeared rather wary of the dragon, stepping on eggshells around him in fear of upsetting him, but the tense atmosphere soon dissipated once they realized that he was back to his usual kind self, perhaps even more so than before.

"I think Kohaku-nii's back!" the children had whispered excitedly amongst themselves from the table they were at, and Chihiro suspected the man had heard them from where he was, because she caught the hint of a smile on his lips as his head tilted ever so slightly in their direction.

"Here you go, Chihiro," Shou said, placing a tray down on the table in front of her. The smell of miso soup was enough to make her mouth water. There was a bowl of rice topped with sesame seeds, a plate of vegetables on the side and a boiled egg as well. She hadn't eaten anything since yesterday, and for once in a long time she felt ready to feast. "What about you?" she asked, when she didn't see him with another tray.

"Ah, about that," he smiled a little sheepishly, scratching the side of his face, "I'm eating with Sakura today."

Chihiro arched an eyebrow as she watched his cheeks turn a faint shade of pink as his smile only grew wider. Her lips curled into a smirk and she rested her elbow on the table, nestling her chin in the middle of her palm. "Oh, I see. You're eating with _Sakura_."

It was his turn to raise an indignant brow at her teasing response. "I don't like that tone of yours, young lady. Care to explain what you're implying?"

"Oh, you know what I'm talking about," she replied with an eyeroll. "Don't play dumb with me." She leaned forward across the table. "You sir, are in _l-o-v_ —"

" _Shhh_!" With a little too much force, he slapped his hand over her mouth, causing her to groan at the stinging sensation over her mouth. Well, she supposed she did deserve that a little.

"You're so loud!" he hissed, scowling at her. "How did you kn— I-I mean, that's not true. Not true in the least. Where did you even get that idea? Me? And Sakura? _Ha!_ " He proceeded to make an unconvincing attempt at laughing her words off as a mere absurdity. It quickly died in his throat when he caught the flat look she was sending him with a small shake of her head.

Narrowing his eyes at her once more, he leaned forward and hissed in a low tone, "Did Kohaku tell you anything?"

"He might have..." She laughed when he let out a groan, re-directing his glare to the dragon who was currently chatting with a few elderly spirits just a few tables away. "Honestly, that dragon just can't keep his mouth shut, can he?"

"So it's true. You _do_ like her."

She grinned triumphantly at the sight of his reddening face that just about matched the colour of the apple on his tray. He parted his lips, ready to counter her statement, but her knowing smirk left him utterly speechless.

Defeated, all he could do was hang his head and stammer after a pause, "...D-Don't tell her. Please."

For someone with a knack for teasing his friends, Shou was remarkably easy to tease himself.

Chihiro clicked her tongue and shook her head in disapproval. "Are you planning on ever letting her know?" she questioned.

"I don't know..." he admitted with a sigh, folding his arms across his chest and deflating in his seat. "I don't think she feels the same way, so I'd rather stay friends than destroy whatever it is we have now."

"Hey, what happened to the fearless Shou I know?"

"...He left for a poo."

Chihiro snorted in response to his childish comment. "Maybe she likes you back too, you know. Be more confident in yourself."

"It's not about confidence," he shot back, before pausing to re-consider that statement and correct himself. "Okay _fine_ , maybe it _is_ a little bit about confidence... But still. I don't think she likes me that way."

"Why not?"

"She's always telling me that I'm like an older brother to her." Chihiro felt some pity for him. She resisted the urge to giggle at his pitiful situation, since Shou would certainly not appreciate her finding amusement in his misery. Brother-zoned... That was probably worse than being in the friend zone.

"Not to mention," he continued, "she gets mad at me a lot, because I always tease her. But I just can't help it, you know? She's so cute when you ruffle her feathers. Her cheeks get _this_ huge, like a chipmunk's." He attempted to mimic it for Chihiro, puffing out his cheeks. "They're twice the size of my cheeks," he said, laughing to himself.

' _If only he can see how far gone he is for her...'_ Chihiro thought to herself with a smile. She would love to ask him for more details just to embarrass him further, but if she held him up any longer he would go on and on about Sakura's quirks and end up late for his breakfast date. She doubted that would gain likability points with Sakura, if he ever wanted a chance to be with her.

"You should go," she said. "Don't keep your crush waiting. That's rule number one of dating."

"Oh right! And- _gods,_ Chihiro, could you be any more obvious? Keep it down! Everyone will hear you!" Like an embarrassed teenage girl, he hastily got to his feet and stormed off, but not before throwing a petty harrumph her way. Chihiro rolled her eyes at the exaggerated antics befitting of the drama queen that Shou was, while he soon sprinted off for real.

"Hmm. If he's rushing off like that, he must be going to meet Sakura." The sound of another voice brought Chihiro to her senses and she turned away from the diminishing figure of Shou to find another person seated across her now.

"Haku," she breathed, lips quirking up at the edges at his friendly gaze. "Have you had breakfast?"

"Yes, I ate a while ago. You, on the other hand, have yet to touch your food," he noted with a light frown. "Are you still not feeling well? Or is the food not to your liking?"

"Oh, it's not that. I was just talking to Shou earlier. He's having breakfast with Sakura today for a change." There was a thoughtful pause before she asked in a lower voice, "Is he really never going to make a move on her?"

Haku gave a little shrug at that. "It depends, but it is highly doubtful that he will begin to woo her anytime soon."

"What a pity," she remarked, twisting her lips wryly, picking up her chopsticks and mindlessly nudging the black sesame seeds lying atop her bowl of white rice. "I think they look good together."

"They will need some time to realize that," he replied, a tiny hint of exasperation evident in his tone. "They have quite the length of time to do so, regardless."

"Right, you guys are spirits," Chihiro muttered, as if just remembering that she was in the spirit world and talking to beings that had lived centuries longer than she had. "You know, out of curiosity, what is the average life span of a spirit?"

"It differs from spirit to spirit. The spirits with the longest life spans are the Great Turtles and the Crane Lords. The few that are born become Ancients, otherwise known as the guardians of this realm. They typically live for a thousand years, so the Ancients will change every one thousand years. On average, spirits have life spans ranging from ten years to eight hundred years."

"That's... a really big range," she commented. "What about dragons? How old are you now, Haku? I realize I never asked this before."

"Dragons usually live for around seven hundred years. I am currently 232 years old."

Chihiro paused from chewing on the remains of her carrot. "Sorry, come again?"

She must have looked quite foolish with her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide open like saucers. It caused the man to chuckle at her reaction. "You seem quite surprised."

"Yeah, well, I mean... You don't really look your age."

"We age much slower than humans do," he explained, looking quite pleased with himself.

"I wonder if skincare exists here. Or Botox. Yubaba could use some..." Chihiro mumbled to herself.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing, just amazed at how different we are," she corrected herself with a polite smile.

"Yes, we are. We come from two completely different worlds," Haku mused. Chihiro thought she caught a hint of wistfulness in his softer tone.

"Speaking of which," he began again, sitting up a little straighter, "is your leg feeling better?"

"Much better. I can almost walk normally now. The ointment that Kazune gave me worked well. Why?"

"Good. Shou and I were thinking that tomorrow would be a good day for you to return to your home."

"Oh, right. Home." She had almost forgotten about that. She would have to return and never come back to the Spirit Realm again. A small part of her wished Haku never brought it up. It was a cruel goodbye to face.

"You look less than excited to go back," he remarked, noting her downcast gaze. "I believe your mother is awaiting your return home."

"Yes, she is. She's probably worried sick about me, and I'm not sure how long Ayano can pull off lying to her to cover for me," Chihiro sighed. "Tomorrow sounds good. I should be getting home." At least she had one more day. Just one more day in the Spirit Realm.

"Alright. After breakfast, I'll take you somewhere."

"Where?" she asked.

"You'll find out," he said with a little grin, a playful glint in his shining green eyes.

* * *

Chihiro liked to consider herself an imaginative person. Worlds of every kind and of every design that she could think of, she drew. She drew and drew, creating them line by line on paper and breathing life into them as she painted with each stroke of her brush. Worlds of giants and of miniature cities, realms where there was no land, just skies reflecting off each other on the surfaces of flowing and glittering waters, lands where the grass changed colours with each step one took, leaving a trail of colourful footsteps wherever one went... The days passed with her daydreaming of fantastical worlds that didn't exist.

Or so she thought.

In all her years of living, Chihiro never thought that she would ever step foot in a strange land that she had only dreamed of before. It was an oddly emotional moment when she got off the dragon's back and jumped onto the grass, which turned a beautiful light shade of blue just around her feet, and when she looked up to gaze upon the shower of white stars raining down from the deep blue sky into the sparkling surface of the ocean that surrounded the island she was on. They were in a bowl, the ocean bound by the towering cliff of a mighty waterfall. The waterfall went up so far into the sky that she couldn't see where the water began, and a thought crossed her mind, that maybe the water was flowing straight from the heavens... and maybe that wouldn't be too far off.

It was a peculiar sight, seeing how fast and strong the water was as it all gushed down from the very top, while the sound was muted as though it were nothing more than a river with a relatively strong current on a stormy day.

Chihiro felt tiny, like a speck of dust on the face of this marvellous land that went far beyond her comprehension of beauty and glory.

"So, what do you think? I thought you would like it if I brought you here." Haku's pleased voice broke her out of her thoughts, and she blinked a couple times to soothe the soreness in her eyes — she had forgotten to blink since getting off him — before turning to face him with a grin so wide she felt like her face would tear. She couldn't help it.

"I do I do I do!" she exclaimed gleefully. "To say this place is beautiful would be the understatement of the century!" She gestured wildly to the grass that was now turning pink around her feet, to the waterfall, to the stars... to _everything_ that the eye could possibly see. "I love it! It's amazing, Haku!"

"I know. This is my favourite place," he smiled. Then, he held his hand out to her. "Now then, shall we?"

Chihiro stared at his hand questioningly, before looking back at him. "What?"

"Take my hand and come with me. There's more to show you."

"There's _more_?"

He chuckled at the bewilderment showing on her face. Nevertheless, she placed her hand in his, and followed him as he took a few steps forward, but stopped the moment he took his first step out onto the water.

"Uh-uh. What is that?"

"We're walking. You will need to move your legs for that, Chihiro."

"Yes, but humans don't walk on water. You know that, right?"

"We're in the Spirit Realm."

"Yeah well, you're a spirit and I'm a human."

"And right now, you're with a spirit, so trust me and come." He gave her a reassuring smile, tugging her hand forward gently. He watched with a smile as the frown on her face dissolved into something more hesitant as she stared at his hand and feet there were on the water surface, ripples blooming at his feet as he shifted his weight to angle his body towards her.

"And since when have I not trusted you?" she asked with a smirk forming around the edges of her lips, before gripping his hand a little tighter and hesitantly taking her first step out onto the water surface.

The surface felt strangely firm beneath her feet, though she could still feel the water flowing and the ripples forming as she tightened her grip on Haku's hand and placed her second foot onto the water surface.

"There you go. Wasn't as scary or as impossible as you thought it was, was it?"

"Yeah, you were right," she grinned in awe, eyes not leaving her feet. She blinked a few times to make sure that she wasn't just seeing things, and that she really _was_ standing on water. "This is _so_ cool."

She didn't notice his brief pause until he cleared his throat and inquired, "Are you... feeling chilly? I thought this temperature was alright for a human."

Her head snapped up in confusion, and she found puzzlement and concern etched in his features as he gazed at her. It took her a couple of seconds to remember that he wasn't used to human slang.

She clamped her hand over her mouth just after a loud laugh escaped her. "O-Oh, I didn't mean it like that... haha... It was just—" She took in a deep breath to compose herself before continuing, "It means something is amazing. Just slang that humans use."

"Oh, I see," he replied, a thoughtful look replacing the earlier puzzlement on his face. "Then yes, I do agree that this place is quite... _cool._ "

Chihiro couldn't help but laugh at the awkward use of the word. "I think you should just stick to your usual way of speaking. It doesn't really suit you."

"Does it not? I thought I executed it rather well," he defended, looking quite indignant at her allegation. "And what is my 'usual way of speaking'? How would you describe it?"

"...Haku, you mentioned that you wanted to show me somewhere right? Shouldn't we walk instead of staying in this spot?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't change the subject."

"Let's go!" She began walking forward, still holding his hand, but the moment she took one step without him following beside her, she immediately jumped back, clinging to his arm. In the brief moment her nose brushed against the white flowing sleeve of his tunic, she caught the scent of rain and freshwater on him. "W-Wow," she began with a nervous laugh, "I actually forgot we were walking on water. Is it... a common activity here?"

"For water spirits like me, yes," he stated. "Are you scared?"

"A little," she admitted, "but you won't let me fall, right?"

"Of course not," he smiled, holding up their tightly clasped hands. "As long as you're with me, you'll be fine. So don't let go."

"I wouldn't let go even if you begged me to. I've had enough of near-drowning experiences to last me a lifetime," she harrumphed, to which he laughed as he led her across the star-studded surface of the waters towards the majestic waterfall.

The walk there wasn't too long, and Chihiro soon forgot about her initial fears of walking on water, her attention fully fixated on the breathtaking scenery before her that only existed in her fantasies before. Haku seemed content with walking by her side, quietly observing the wonder in her eyes as she continued to admire the area.

Soon, they were face to face with the rushing waters, though strangely enough Chihiro could not feel stray droplets of water on her in the least, despite them standing so close. She expected to be drenched by now, but both she and Haku were dry as ever.

He was about to step forward when she tugged him back. "What are you doing?" she questioned with wide eyes, hoping she could be heard over the sound of gushing waters.

Haku offered her a smile, seeming to understand what she meant even if he couldn't hear her. He gave her hand a little squeeze, and mouthed the words, _"Trust me."_

Then, taking her by the hand, he stepped forward, his body disappearing into the water. Squeezing her eyes shut, she followed suit, unsure of what to expect.

The first thing that registered through the darkness beneath her closed eyelids was that she was not wet. Not even a little.

After that, it was the scent of morning dew mixed with rain and mint, and then the sensation of tatami mats beneath her feet instead of water.

"You didn't have to close your eyes, you know," she head Haku say with a chuckle. He released her hand then, prompting her eyes to open.

"Welcome to my home. The entrance can be difficult for outsiders for find, so it is safe here. Feel free to relax and look around."

" _This_... is your home?" Chihiro echoed in near disbelief, as her eyes drank in the grand sight of his home. The ceiling was exceptionally high, perhaps reaching up to half of the height of the waterfall itself. The walls were all a pristine white, giving his home a clean yet sophisticated feel. The interior looked much like a traditional Japanese house, except it was grander. Perhaps it was the intricate-looking antiques and paintings decorating the room at various corners, or perhaps it was the thin, modest stretch of a flowing river that separated one half of the room from the other. There were little fishes swimming in it as well. There was little furniture that she could see.

"Is this the living room?" she asked him, realizing that he had already removed his shoes and was now wearing a pair of _geta_ sandals.

"No, this is just the entrance. I will show you around."

"Wow... okay." Hastily, she removed her shoes, feeling a little self-conscious with Haku watching her as she did so. After putting on the _geta_ sandals, she followed him into his home, wondering what other surprises lay in store.

Haku's house was far bigger than she thought it would be. Then again, she should have expected it, considering he resided within a gigantic waterfall. Even after Haku showed her around the place, she still felt like she might get lost if she were to be separated from him. The layout certainly wasn't as confusing as Yubaba's maze of an office, but still. She also couldn't get used to the absurd height of his ceiling. It made her feel especially small.

The most interesting room was his "office", but really, it was more of a library filled with shelves of thick and old books, and a large desk that would span the length of three of her rooms placed side by side right in the middle of it all. There were scrolls, maps, oddly-shaped glass flasks on racks containing different coloured liquids, stationery, stacks of papers, and many other things lining it. He must have a tiring and hectic life as a member of the Shugorei, and head of the Kaigo Shelter.

Chihiro lost count of the number of times she asked, "What are those?" or "What is that?" It was a wonder how Haku hadn't gotten tired of her endless questions. He answered them all patiently, and though she couldn't understand everything that he said, considering the complexities surrounding this strange realm, she enjoyed listening to his soothing, calming voice. It rather reminded her of the time when she was ten and with him. His voice had this soothing quality to it that helped her to calm down even when she was petrified to the core of her being.

The both of them completely forgot about lunch until approximately three in the afternoon, after which Haku grilled some beef and vegetables for them. It was only at Chihiro's insistence that he allowed her to help out with the cooking.

The rest of the day flew by without either of them realizing, both absorbed in conversation about random topics and stories, ranging from Shou's embarrassing stories when he was just a trainee in the Shugorei to the best way to cook rice.

"The sun has already set," Haku realized quite belatedly, looking out the window to see that the sky was already dark. "We should leave."

"Already?" Dismayed, Chihiro set down her cup of green tea. "Time passes way too quickly."

"Yes, it does, unfortunately," Haku agreed with a tight smile.

"I don't want to leave. I can't bear to leave," she sighed, setting her now empty cup down. "I'll miss everyone so much."

"But you must go. It is how things are."

"I guess. Kinda harsh, isn't it? My spirit friends are just as important as my human friends, but I have to say goodbye to you guys just because."

No words were said in return to that statement, and Chihiro was about to apologize for turning the mood sour when she felt his hand on her shoulder. He had moved to sit next to her on the tatami mat, and his sad eyes betrayed the strong smile that he tried to offer her. "We will miss you dearly, Chihiro. I will as well. Truly. You are a remarkable person and I consider it the greatest privilege for me to have found a true friend in you. You have... done so much for me, in spite of my severe shortcomings and flaws, and I wish you could stay even just for a while more, but going home is the only way for you to stay safe, and your safety is the most important to me, and to all of us. Lin will have my head if I don't ensure your return home in one piece," he added, drawing a chuckle from her.

"Thanks Haku," she smiled, "I'll miss you a lot too. And I'm proud and happy for you to finally be able to heal after a long time. It will take some time, but you'll be okay. You're the strongest dragon I know, and the bravest friend I have. As much as I'm sad that we'll have to say our goodbyes again, I'm so glad and thankful that I got the chance to meet you again."

He nodded, giving her shoulder a firm squeeze in comfort. "As am I."

The sun was setting when they emerged from the waterfall. Chihiro insisted on walking for a while more, and Haku complied.

There was a period of silence, neither having much to say. Their hands remained by their sides, though they walked close enough that their knuckles would brush past each other's on occasion, though if either of them noticed, they didn't react. It was as if it felt natural to be together like this.

It was only when they neared the island where they were at earlier that Haku finally broke his silence.

"Chihiro."

"Yes?"

"Is there anything important that you have yet to tell me?"

She paused before replying, "What do you mean?"

He came to a stop, prompting her to follow suit and face him. "Yesterday, when I... spoke with Sora..." He swallowed thickly before continuing his sentence. Hearing that name fall from his lips still pained him greatly. "She... She mentioned something that troubled me. She said that you don't have a lot of time, but did not elaborate further in consideration for your privacy. I would like to know what that meant. She seemed surprised that you had not brought up that particular matter with me."

"Sora? But... How did she..." With one hand, she clutched the hem of her shirt and squeezed it in her fist, looking away with her brows furrowed, clearly confused.

"She took over your body for a few minutes. In that time she had full access to your mind and to your memories," Haku explained. The skin on his forehead creased as a frown formed on his face at Chihiro's obvious discomfort. "What was she referring to? When she said that you do not have a lot of time left, did she mean that you—"

"It's nothing," Chihiro cut in, sounding colder than she had earlier, before looking up at the sky to find that the sun had set and that the sky was already a dark shade of blue that would soon turn to black. "We should hurry back, it's getting dark."

She made to move off, but was stopped by Haku, who wrapped his hand around her wrist to pull her back.

"Chihiro, don't run away. What is the matter? Is it something so personal that you cannot talk to me about?"

"...It's not something I like to talk about, Haku. Please."

"From the way you're acting, it is not simply 'nothing'. This was something that even Sora thought to bring up in passing."

"It's not any of your business, Haku," Chihiro snapped icily, wrenching her arm away from his. "Don't bother yourself with this. It's really nothing."

"Is worrying not what friends do, Chihiro?" He shot back, folding his arms across his chest. "You did the same when I repeatedly told you not to find out more about Sora, but you went and _bothered_ yourself with it anyway, did you not?"

Chihiro opened her mouth to speak, but shut it again when she found no objectionable point to raise in response to his argument. Taking her silence as acknowledgement of his reasoning, he added in a softer tone, "I will not push the matter if you do not want to talk to me about it, but I am genuinely worried and concerned for you as a friend. You did the same for me, and I think it is only right that I lend you the same support you gave me when I was going through a difficult time."

Chihiro groaned inwardly as her lips spread into a wry smile. Well. If he put it like that, how could she deny him? And he didn't seem like he was asking simply out of sheer curiosity as many other people did; he sounded genuine enough about it. Much like the Haku she knew.

"It's really nothing big." She dropped her head as she released a long exhale, placing her hands in the pockets of her shorts. Then, she looked up to face him, eyes distant as she stated, "I have this medical condition that makes it uncertain how long I will actually live for. It's still a 'wait and see' thing, and my doctor said that I've been doing okay recently, so for the time being there's nothing much to worry about."

Chihiro gave the man a tight-lipped smile, noting the usual sadness, worry, concern, and sympathy that every other person gave her when she spoke of this. It was why she abhorred talking about this unless it was absolutely necessary. While she appreciated the concern, it was tiring having to comfort friends and to assure them that there would be no need to worry about her every other time they met up or had conversation.

She raised a questioning brow at Haku's rather solemn expression when he placed a hand on her shoulder to squeeze it firmly. And this was the part where he would utter his condolences, say something to fill up the awkwardness that had been created by the tense subject matter, and end off by telling her that she was strong. Maybe she was strong, maybe she wasn't. She didn't know. But she certainly wasn't strong just because of a stupid illness. It was all just sugar-coated words, stuff to make her feel better, but stuff that didn't really help anyway.

"Thank you for telling me. I appreciate it," he said earnestly, eyes tinged with sadness that she was all too familiar with now.

"It's fine," she replied, "I didn't tell you or the others because I didn't want you guys to worry about me. I'll be fine."

"When did you get diagnosed with this illness? Or were you born with it?"

"I was diagnosed over three years ago."

"I see. So you have been living like this for three years." He dropped his hand from her shoulder and a rather sardonic chuckle left him.

"What... do you mean by that?" she asked.

"In some ways, we are polar opposites," he elaborated, placing his hands in the pockets of his trousers. "Back when I was grieving for Sora, I knew the people around me were worried for me, but I did nothing to assure them with my words or with my actions. I was wholly fixated on my own suffering, and I failed to see the pain and hurt that my companions also suffered after her death — I was a selfish beast," he surmised bitterly. "But you are different. You see the pain and hurt that your friends feel for you, and you're so conscious of the feelings of others that you simply suffer in silence on your own. You carried the emotional and physical burden of this on your on shoulders, but in looking out for everyone else, you've forgotten about the aches and sores on your own body."

Now it was Chihiro's turn to stare at him in stunned silence, while he gazed at her with a weak smile and understanding eyes. Eyes that pierced right into the depths of her soul and read her heart like an open book, her heart that no one else could ever seem to understand as well as she would have liked. Eyes that reflected the glittering stars hanging up in the dark night sky, eyes that were drawing her in, and starting to pull off the strong mask she had been wearing for the past three years.

All she could do was nod meekly, before the first tear slid down her cheek. She was about to turn away and hide her shameful face when he reached forward and grabbed her by the elbow to pull her in.

It was warm. She could feel the heat of his body through the fabric of his clothes, his warm breath fanning across her ear and neck, and his hand pressed tightly on her back to hold her in his arms, but his other hand gently stroked her head, careful not to knock over the beanie covering it.

...Unfair. She was too weak when it came to hugs. She could never control her tears whenever someone hugged her, especially in a tender one such as this. He was holding her tightly, and she felt like someone was wrapping her in a thick woollen blanket on a cold winter's night. The tears began falling faster, close to matching the speed of the gushing waterfall, and they were pooling in the fabric of his clothes. She wanted to pull away so as to not ruin his shirt, but he did not let her go.

"The stars are quite bright and beautiful tonight. Let us stay out here for a little while more."

She nodded, glad for an excuse not to have to show him her tear-streaked face as it was right then. "Okay," she whispered, resting her hands loosely on his broad back.

"And you know, there _is_ one thing that we both have in common," he mused in that gentle, compassionate voice he used with her back when she first met him. "We've been lonely for a long time, and I believe it is time for the both of us to learn to walk out of that. Together."

"Okay," she whispered again, nodding and pressing her face into his shoulder, allowing the sound of the gushing waterfall to drown out her quiet sobs.

* * *

 **A/N:** 7K words for this chapter... I originally wanted to add more but the chapter has gotten too long so I'll leave it for the next one.

With regards to updates, I sincerely apologize for leaving this untouched for so long. I stopped writing this fic for various reasons. One is because of my schedule in university. It's crazier than I thought it would be and I can barely squeeze time out for any writing. In general I haven't been writing much since university started.

The other reason is because I started getting disillusioned with the feedback I was getting on this story, as compared to when I was writing the original version of _The Wait._ I know that a big reason for this drop is because the fandom has shrunk/far fewer people read Spirited Away fics as compared to how it was in the past. Nevertheless, I couldn't help the frustration and disappointment that came with the growing feeling that I wasn't getting much in return for the amount of effort and hours that I had put into each chapter for this fanfiction. I thought I was a bad writer, or that maybe this story was just not good after all. Which was also why I started writing more for Mystic Messenger, because the amount and quality of comments that I got there motivated me a lot more to write and improve as a writer. This is not to say that I'm not thankful for the reviews that I have been getting on this story. I'm still amazed each time I get a review on this forsaken story and the reason why I decided to sit down and write an update was because **Amidstsnow** recently wrote to say that they really wanted one, and because they have been consistently reading and supporting this story from day one. Thank you dear, I hope I did not disappoint you with this chapter.

As for future updates... to be honest, I'm not sure. My priority lies with updating and completing my Mystic Messenger multi-chapter fic, and my winter break is only going to last till 8 January, which means I won't have time to update this fic (because I have a lot of other writing projects in between) until my summer break which starts on 21 April next year. In general I'm also kind of in a writing slump. Soo... yeah.

Anyways, thanks for sticking around. I'm not giving more content because that would leave you guys on a cliffhanger, and that's the last thing you would want with a writer who provides very irregular updates.

Merry Christmas and happy new year!


End file.
